Southeast Ohio: A digital desert

NEW LEXINGTON — Rural Ohio has been the subject of having little to no broadband internet access making many of the residents in Perry County becoming frustrated and asking serious questions. It has become clear that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has overestimated how much coverage the region has due to a study funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

Several community members as well as Perry County officials were invited to listen to a presentation regarding rural broadband access on Wednesday afternoon. The presentation was held at the Perry Behavioral Health Choices (PBHC) with tables and chairs organized in front of a smart board.

The presentation given at the PBHC, located on North Main Street in New Lexington, was presented by Reid Consulting Group President Tom Reid. He was brought on by the Buckeye Hills Regional Council to collaborate on a study which would identify areas in the county that have a hard time getting constant internet connection.

In 2019, the Buckeye Hills Regional Council worked with Ohio University and the Athens County Economic Development Council to conduct an eight-county study funded by the ARC in the form of $78,000. The overall study included Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry and Washington counties.

“We wanted to take the opportunity to share with you the results of an eight-county broadband study we have been working on for the better part of a year,” Buckeye Hills Regional Council Development Coordinator Bret Allphin stated to those present. “We have some really interesting information to give to you today.”

Allphin added that the study will help those present as well as other community members understand the problem with broadband in rural areas. The presentation also gave local administrators and residents a chance to look at the funding opportunities available for future projects for rural broadband.

“We are excited to share this with you and know that our effort and our work on this isn’t done,” Allphin stated.

Allphin passed the attention to Reid who was key in conducting the study as well as speaking with the FCC. His presentation covered what was founded form the study, reviewing the network architecture in the region, the amount of funding that will be needed to establish broadband constructions and next steps for the future.

In the beginning of Reid’s presentation, he gave background information about how residents use local entities, including fast food restaurants, as a place to use internet services, something those present at the PBHC were all too familiar with. More and more public schools in Ohio as well as across the country are using the internet for assignments assuming that families have internet access.

“Our students and job seekers go to McDonalds as a place that they can get connectivity,” Reid explained. “The situation really hasn’t improved.”

Southeast Ohio has a wide array of hills and deep valleys making it difficult to get internet. When a school has a snow day, school is still in session as it has become common for students to use the internet to do homework assignments.

Lack of broadband access does not just hurt the aspiring students in the area, but also those who are looking for work. Reid stated that the lack of broadband is a handicap for job seekers as well as those who are currently employed. The scarcity also hinders those who work from home.

One of the reasons that broadband has been absent in rural Ohio is the aspect of population density. In Monroe Township and Perry County, Reid stated that there are approximately 12 households per square mile. Compared to the City of Columbus, Monroe Township and Perry County make up about .8 percent compared to the heavily populated area.

“The areas where we really have a digital dessert are in what we call rural expanse,” Reid stated.

The digital desert still persists as the majority of the eight county study recorded approximately 75 percent of the area lacked broadband. This is in accordance with the FCC definition of having broadband is 25 megabits per second (mbps) in download speed and 3mbps (25/3).

“Seventy five percent of the geography does not have 25/3 and thats sounds pretty bad,” Reid commented. “But it’s actually much worse than that.”

Using public records in a combinations of FCC form 477 data and Universal Service Administrative Co. data, Reid showed a map that revealed how most of the area covered in the study did not have basic broadband.

Reid also explained how in many areas of Southeast Ohio have been using copper cables. In many areas, the availability of broadband is “severely limited” due to deteriorating copper cables.

The FCC had previously recorded that broadband services having 10mbps download and 1mbps upload speeds (10/1) covered 62 percent of households in the rural expanse. Reid explained that between 80 and 90 percent of households do not have the 10/1 which contradicts the FCC’s estimates. This means that approximately 90,000 residents do not have broadband service.

The terrain in Southeast Ohio can become challenging for public and private entities to build architecture in order to support a broadband network. The combinations of hills and valleys make it difficult for residents in southeast Ohio to connect to the internet since there is no direct signal or connections.

In order to build up the infrastructure and provide the service, project funding will need approximately $1.7 billion to connect all areas who fall under 25/3, according to Reid. He clarified that all cost estimates are budgetary which is plus or minus 15 percent. The proposed plan would connect households to a fiber-to-home strategy. Reid also stated that the plan would be conducted in a ten year cycle totally replacing the existing copper lines.

With a large budget, Reid gave those present different types of federal and state funding opportunities that can become available in the future. The FCC has a Rural Digital Opportunity Fund as well as a Rural 5G fund. Both FCC funding opportunities are competitive and require a service provider to commit to a plan for the region. The state of Ohio will be announcing a broadband fund later in the near future.