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Ohio’s Broadband Bill Passes House But Still Needs Approval From The Senate
By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Nearly one million Ohio households lack reliable broadband service and of that, there are 300,000 that don’t have any service at all. The Ohio House has passed a bill that would help bring broadband to those area. It’s now up to Senators to pass the plan.
Republican Representative Rick Carfagna (R-Westerville) says his bill creates a way for broadband providers to tap into $20 million in state grants to subsidize installing service to the pockets and areas where it they could not afford to expand.
“We’ve got a lot of political will behind us and for the first time, we have now significant funding behind us.”
Carfagna says the Senate needs to act on the bill quickly to be able to tap into those dollars, which are available till next July. The bill was proposed more than a year ago and had widespread favor, but was changed several times before finally getting approval.