Buckeye Reporter

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and U.S. Representatives Emilia Sykes (D-OH-13) and Greg Landsman (D-OH-1) hosted a news conference call to announce a massive investment to expand high-speed internet access in Ohio. This was made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Brown helped write and pass. Ohio will receive nearly $794 million to bring high-speed internet to 183,000 Ohio households.

“Every Ohio family and Ohio business should have reliable, high-speed internet. You shouldn’t have to live in a big city or a wealthy suburb to have access to a crucial aspect of modern society and our economy,” said Sen. Brown. “It’s why when we wrote the infrastructure bill, we made sure that it not only included investment in broadband, but that the investment would be focused on places like Ohio, where large portions of the state have been left out.”

“Internet access is the great equalizer of the 21st century, and Ohio’s 13th Congressional District continues to be a national leader in developing innovative strategies to connect Ohioans to the knowledge, services, and opportunities the internet holds. I am pleased that Ohio will receive more than $793 million from the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to continue closing the digital divide and guarantee all Americans have access to affordable, high-speed internet. Once again, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Biden-Harris Administration are delivering real results for the working people and families in Ohio’s 13th District,” said Rep. Sykes.

“High-speed broadband will be a game changer for our families. This is huge, and it will help with accessing everything from better healthcare to education and even jobs in both urban and rural communities. As I always say, the most significant progress and investments we make are usually the result of bipartisan work. This is a great example. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included this broadband money, and now we’re bringing it home to Southwest Ohio,” said Rep. Landsman.

The investment comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a $42.45 billion allocation that is administered by the National Technology and Information Administration (NTIA). The infrastructure law provided NTIA a formula to calculate the distribution of BEAD funding based on the share of unserved locations in each state. A location is considered unserved if the National Broadband Map shows that it is broadband-serviceable and it either has no access to broadband service or lacks reliable broadband service.

The $794 million that has been awarded to Ohio can fund planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs. Ohio has already received $5 million in initial BEAD funding.

Brown was also joined on the call by Mitch Landrieu, coordinator of the infrastructure law’s implementation.

Original source can be found here.