Governor Mike DeWine Awards $95 Million to Deliver Gigabit Fiber Broadband Across 32 Appalachian Counties

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced on Monday the distribution of $95 million in Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant (ORBEG) awards to deploy gigabit-capable fiber-to-the-home broadband infrastructure across 32 rural and Appalachian counties.

The state grants, matched by $115 million in private capital investment from regional telecommunications providers and rural electric cooperatives, will construct more than 3,400 miles of fiber-optic cabling, connecting 42,000 previously unserved homes, farms, and small businesses to reliable high-speed internet.

Closing the Digital Divide in Appalachian Ohio Governor DeWine emphasized that high-speed internet connectivity is essential for 21st-century educational attainment, modern healthcare delivery through telemedicine, and rural economic competitiveness.

"In today's economy, high-speed broadband is not a luxury—it is just as essential as electricity and clean running water," Governor DeWine said in Athens. "For too long, students in rural Appalachian Ohio had to sit in fast-food parking lots to complete their homework, and local business owners struggled to access digital markets. Today's $95 million investment will connect tens of thousands of Ohio families to educational opportunities, remote healthcare, and high-paying digital jobs."

County-Level Deployments and Agricultural Connectivity Grant projects will construct fiber rings across Athens, Belmont, Guernsey, Meigs, Scioto, Washington, and surrounding Appalachian counties, with mandatory performance standards requiring participating internet service providers (ISPs) to offer symmetrical download and upload speeds of at least 100 Mbps, with gigabit service tiers available to all customers.

Participating providers must also enroll in state affordability programs offering discounted $30 monthly broadband packages for low-income households and rural seniors.

Local school superintendents, rural hospital administrators, and agricultural associations commended the broadband rollout, pointing to immediate improvements in remote specialized clinical consults and precision digital farming operations.