Commissioners: Broadband service is a necessity for all residents of Tuscarawas County

NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ Tuscarawas County commissioners say that it is imperative that everyone in the county has a connection to the internet .

"I can't think of any greater transformational project that there is in our lifetime than having everything connected, because this is the future," said Commissioner Chris Abbuhl.

Added Commissioner Kristin Zemis, "It's imperative that we have it available. It is important not only for education and kids, agriculture, telehealth. It has so many applications. It's not acceptable not to have it."

It's a necessity like having running water, she said.

"We don't want to be left behind. That's a real possibility if we can't as a county keep up and have our kids be able to keep up with what they need in school. Also attracting and maintaining good business here is important. It's an infrastructure issue as well. Being left behind is real."

Upgrading towers

Commissioners have allocated $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to aid expansion of broadband. Tuscarawas County was able to leverage that money to get an additional $1 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. In addition, Smart Way Communications of New Philadelphia was able to get an additional $1 million in funding.

A portion of that $3 million was used upgrade towers so they could reach more people at high rates of speed, according to Marla Akridge, head of the Tuscarawas County Economic Development Corp. This project helped make broadband available to a potential 600 homes and 40 businesses in the Uhrichsville, Gnadenhutten, Port Washington area.

More on expansion: 'Transformational day.' Broadband tower to bring high-speed internet to Sugarcreek area

The rest of the money was used to build two more towers in underserved areas of the county.

Akridge noted, "At the end of the day, the $3 million doesn't reach every household that we would hope."

A 2022 study financed by the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA) estimated it would cost nearly $85 million to bring adequate broadband access to underserved areas of Tuscarawas County.

Commissioners stressed that to reach all of Tuscarawas County, a combination of fiber optic cables and wireless will be needed because of the topography.

The money is available for the project, but the problem is the deployment of funds, Abbuhl said.

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Commissioners: Broadband service is a necessity for all residents of Tuscarawas County