Opinion: Columbus area cities should not invest in costly broadband - The Columbus Dispatch

Shaun Tucker is the erstwhile enforcement manager of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus.

As radical progressively trust connected the net to entree tools for remote learning, nonrecreational services and telehealth, policymakers crossed the federation person assessed ways to get unconnected Americans online.

Here successful Franklin County however, immoderate leaders successful cities similar Columbus and Dublin person mistakenly acceptable their absorption connected constructing duplicative broadband infrastructure, alternatively than focusing connected the true, adoption-related factors driving the integer divide.

Both of these cities are well-covered and person entree to aggregate networks offering accelerated speeds. In Columbus, the Federal Communications Commission estimates that 99.98% of the country has entree to high-speed net that is acold faster than the explanation for broadband speeds, and successful Dublin, it is 99.95%.

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Additionally, some cities person competitory net work supplier markets. Dublin has 8 broadband providers covering astatine slightest 70% of the area, while Columbus has six broadband providers covering astatine slightest 80% of the area.

Not lone would investing successful duplicative broadband infrastructure bash thing to address our integer divide, but the fiscal constituent of this determination would besides beryllium problematic.

Constructing, maintaining and upgrading a fiber-based web is an incredibly costly endeavor, and 1 that galore Franklin County cities could not spend fixed different issues their communities are facing.

In Columbus for example, determination is already large uncertainty surrounding however the City volition money public teacher wage increases — a much-needed concern for our community.

It would beryllium puzzling for section officials to determination guardant with a costly, duplicative government-run web that would lone adhd to taxation increases amid historical inflation and complicate an already squeezed budget.

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There is inactive an urgent need, however, for cities with ubiquitous broadband infrastructure – similar Columbus and Dublin – to put successful solutions to close the integer disagreement by getting much folks online. Those investments should beryllium cost-effective and adoption-focused.

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The Affordable Connectivity Program is possibly the astir pivotal assets to get much unconnected residents the connectivity they need. The program, which is afloat funded done the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides up to a $30 monthly discount to eligible households.

When coupled with low-income offerings disposable from galore of the nation’s starring providers, the Affordable Connectivity Program discount makes an net subscription escaped oregon adjacent to it.

The Ohio-based deliberation vessel Innovation Ohio recently published a report highlighting however Affordable Connectivity Program promotion successful Ohio volition beryllium much effective, and supply “an easier way for communities to service the needs of residents than the costly buildout of government-owned networks.”

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With federal-funding for the programme already secured, the biggest hurdle volition beryllium getting eligible residents (about 4 successful 10 Americans) to recognize that the programme exists. States and localities that person promoted the programme person shown that amplification works. In Massachusetts for example, the authorities authorities texted implicit 1 cardinal likely-eligible residents and saw their enrollment complaint treble implicit the adjacent 5 days.

Cities successful Franklin County should travel this lead.

Instead of throwing millions astatine duplicative broadband infrastructure, they should put successful promotion of the Affordable Connectivity Program — a solution that volition really enactment to adjacent the integer divide.

Shaun Tucker is the erstwhile enforcement manager of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus.