Residents of Meigs County, Ohio — a county whose eastern edge borders West Virginia and the winding Ohio River — are set to benefit from a Broadband-as-a-Service project broadband grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. It will provide broadband service to more than 200 homes in the county, which otherwise would have no access to high-speed internet service.
Telecompetitor spoke with some of the parties involved, learning that Meigs County, Ohio received a $352,000 broadband grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission through its Broadband-as-a-Service (BaaS) program.
BaaS projects let communities procure broadband as a service through long-term ISP contracts, subsidizing access for homes, businesses and institutions, without owning infrastructure. ISPs must provide affordable, non-discriminatory services.
The grant, received by the Meigs County Community Improvement Corporation with the support of the Meigs County Commissioners, is administered by Buckeye Hills Regional Council.
“Meigs County has a well-documented need for broadband infrastructure investment,” said Buckeye Hills Regional Council Executive Director Chasity Schmelzenbach, in a press release about the Ohio broadband grant. “We’ve collaborated alongside partners to lay the groundwork to demonstrate the true need for broadband infrastructure within Meigs County. …”
New Era Broadband, with headquarters in Pomeroy, Ohio, responded to the county’s RFP for a provider and will be putting $88,000 of its own money towards the project.
The project includes addresses that currently do not have cable or fiber internet and are not expected to receive fiber internet in any upcoming expansion projects.
Thanks to the Appalachian Regional Commission broadband grant, approximately 200 homes in the Long Bottom, Ohio, area and homes along Ohio 681 between Reedsville and Tuppers Plains, Ohio, will get access to service with speeds of greater than 100 Mbps. The project is expected to be substantively operational later in 2025.
“While this equipment is significantly more expensive than the equipment we have traditionally used, it will give subscribers a fiber-like experience at a fraction of the cost of running fiber optic cable in this region,” said Dave Hannum, founder and co-owner of New Era Broadband.
This Ohio broadband grant structure is similar to one between regional equipment supplier Accelecom and The Center for Rural Development — using funds from an Appalachian Regional Commission grant — for a network expansion in 16 counties in eastern Kentucky in 2023.
