UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The state of Ohio has announced a new $130 million public-private partnership with internet provider Altafiber to broaden broadband access.
Over the next several years, crews will use the money to install high-speed internet service in three counties across rural Southwest Ohio: Adams County, Brown County and Clermont County.
The project will impact approximately 38,000 addresses across Adams, Brown and Clermont counties — 13,000 of those homes are "unserved completely."
"Why does it matter? Because if you don't have access to high speed internet, you don't have access to the modern economy, healthcare, education system — you are at a distinct disadvantage," Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said.
AltaFiber will put roughly $80 million toward the project, while Ohio will contribute $50 million, Husted said.
"The economics don't work without a private, public partnership," Lt. Gov. Husted said. "We just had to find a good partner."
AltaFiber, formerly Cincinnati Bell, serves more than a dozen areas across Ohio and Indiana.
"This is access to health care, this is access to education, this is access to job training," AltaFiber CEO Leigh Fox said. "It is critical for everyone to have next generation internet, to stay connected in their communities."
Gary Miller knows what it's like to experience connectivity issues, living in one of the more rural parts of Batavia.
"We're well off the road, approximately half a mile and then three quarters of a mile," Miller said. "There was a lot of periods with storms and stuff that [connections] would go out and then come back."
In 2023, Miller said crews with AltaFiber laid internet cables up to his and his daughter's property at no extra charge, using grant money.
"It used to slow down, or the grandkids would be on it and [my daughter] couldn't get on it, but with the new service, she's very happy. It's a lot faster," he said. "It's absolutely necessary."
Adams County is set to benefit the most from the project with more than 7,000 addresses completely underserved, followed by Brown County with 5,000 and Clermont County with 1,000.
The first phase of the project will be completed by Dec. 31, 2026, Husted said, with the rest finishing sometime in 2028.
Watch Live:
