Rural Ohio broadband gets $100 million boost to close digital divide

Electric cooperative South Central Power is getting into the internet business, using a $100 million state grant to connect parts of its service territory in Appalachia where getting online can be tough.

The company has established connectSCP, a new division that is meant to connect unserved and underserved members in its service area that covers parts of 24 counties in southern, central and eastern Ohio.

"This has opened a new door for us. We've been waiting for this for a very long time," said Sally Sipperley, who expects the initiative to bring the internet to her mom's rural home in Belmont County in eastern Ohio this summer.

The initial phase of the 30-month rollout will start this summer.

First up is the New Market area of Highland and Adams counties in southern Ohio where South Central plans to connect about 2,500 homes. Next is the Somerton area in Belmont County in eastern Ohio, according to the company.

Expansion into internet fits South Central's history

Though it is a new business for South Central, the expansion does fit in with its history as a not-for-profit providing services to the members who own it.

South Central dates to the 1930s when a group of farmers came together to bring electricity to rural communities.

Today, it powers more than 125,000 homes, farms, schools and businesses, and is Ohio’s largest electric cooperative.

“Our goal is that every member of the cooperative has access to high-speed internet, whether it’s from connectSCP or another provider. We want to be part of the solution to closing the digital divide in the rural communities we serve with power,” Rick Lemonds, South Central's president and CEO, said in a statement.

South Central effort part of plan to close digital divide

The entry by South Central into the internet business is part of a broader push in Ohio and nationally to extend connectivity to unserved and underserved urban and rural areas where being able to get online is now considered as important as having electricity or access to clean water.

Cable and internet company Spectrum announced last fall that it will spend $1.25 billion to expand and speed up service in Ohio.

"It means no virtual learning, no telemedicine, no Facetime with grandkids, no cord cutting," South Central said about the lack of internet service in parts of its service territory. "It’s impacting families, and it’s impacting businesses as well. It’s a detriment to quality of life in these areas and is impacting these communities’ ability to grow and thrive."

Sipperley, 62, of Cincinnati, says connectSCP offers the potential to spend more time with her 91-year-old mother, Eleanor Williamson, who lives four hours away in Belmont County.

Internet service isn't currently available at her mom's cottage nears Beallsville, but South Central's program should give her mother access as soon as the next couple of months.

Her mother enjoys quilting, recipes and books, and is looking forward to learning about the internet to support her hobbies, Sipperley said.

But for Sipperley, the real advantage is that she'll now have the option to work from her mother's home when she wants, and that means spending more time with her mother and her family.

"I've never been able to have that luxury of spending time with my family," she said.

State grants powering connectSCP

BroadbandOhio, a division of the Ohio Department of Development, awarded South Central $30 million in grants to bring broadband to 7,870 households in parts of Adams, Brown, Clermont, Fayette, Highland, Ross, Pike and Scioto counties.

The cooperative received $68 million for projects in Belmont, Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe and Noble counties in the eastern part of the state that will connect 5,745 households.

South Central says the work also will help it to do a better job of monitoring its system, pinpoint issues on the grid and restore power more quickly after outages.

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Rural Ohio broadband gets $100 million boost to close digital divide