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YOUNGSTOWN -- High-speed broadband for Mahoning, Trumbull, Ashtabula and possibly Columbiana counties could be in place by the end of 2024, according to a feasibility study done on behalf of the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments.
Lindsay Miller of Ice Miller Whiteboard in Columbus, which did the study with MS Consultants Inc. of Youngstown, said during a Tuesday meeting at Eastgate's office that smaller projects would be done earlier, and the goal for the entire line along state Route 11 is to be finished by the end of 2024.
"Broadband takes time," Miller said.
Eastgate represents Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties.
Without Columbiana County, the project is $12 million. For all four counties, it would be $15 million.
There are a number of funding options, Miller said.
That includes seeking state capital budget funding next year as well as applying for various federal grants, using American Recovery Plan funds given to the counties and other local governments, continuing to work with BroadbandOhio on state funding and requesting money from the $250 million approved late Monday by the state Legislature for broadband internet.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted heard a presentation last Thursday on the Eastgate broadband internet proposal when he visited the agency's office.
After the meeting, Husted said he was confident the Ohio Senate, which had eliminated Gov. Mike DeWine's $250 million funding proposal for broadband grants, would restore all of it when a state budget was approved this week. The money is designed to assist the approximately 1 million Ohioans who currently lack affordable and reliable internet service in their homes.
The Eastgate project would serve about 620,000 people in the four counties.
Portions of the counties, including northern Trumbull and southern Mahoning, have no broadband coverage, according to the study.
The study found 39,962 households in Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties have no internet access. That's 18 percent of the three counties compared with 15 percent for the state of Ohio.
Also, several areas have slow coverage.
Areas with lower population density experience lower broadband availability, and a lack of choice among broadband providers further impacts availability and affordability, Miller said.
"It would be highly subscribed to," she said of a major broadband expansion.
Trumbull County Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa, who attended the meeting with fellow Commissioner Frank Fuda, said high-speed broadband would be "transformational to the area."
The study can be read online at: eastgatecog.org/broadband.
dskolnick@vindy.com