Husted helps make connections – The Lima News

ADA — Lt. Governor Jon Husted was awarded Tuesday for helping Ohio counties, including Hardin, make better connections.

The Ohio Broadband and Cable Association Champion Award was established to recognize Ohioans who lead in campaigning for better broadband connectivity. Counties across Ohio, including Hardin, will now have better access to the internet.

According to a broadband release statement, “Residents will have access to Spectrum Internet Gig service with speeds of up to one gigabit download and 500 megabit upload.” Spectrum will be using Fiber-to-the premises technology to implement this project. This simply means the internet connection will go directly to a residence instead of just the surrounding area.

Although internet access became an evident issue across America due to school shutdowns in 2020, Husted said, “We recognized broadband connectivity was an issue before. The process to establish this project was as follows: Understanding the problem, deciding on a strategy and testing the ideas. The goal is to help people who did not have access, including children, those seeking telehealth services and moms and dads who need to work from home.” Husted also said, “this project means thousands of people will have access within the next two years.”

According to a press release, “Spectrum was awarded federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund grants for Hardin County in 2021 and Ohio Broadband Expansion grants for Hardin County earlier this year. When combined these funds will support more than 3,625 currently unserved or underserved homes and small businesses.” Funds provided to the project will go to constructing new technology to broaden internet services.

This expansion in services will not only create better connectivity throughout Hardin County but also jobs.

The new project will create “higher speed and be more affordable. This project will expand the workforce. We have to build the infrastructure to get these accomplished,” said Husted.

For more information on the project visit www.octa.org.