Rural broadband expansion limited by cost; COVID underscores need
For nearly half of the households in Holmes County and in pockets of Ashland and Wayne counties, fast, reliable internet remains unattainable, an issue only exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The need has always been apparent,” said Dave Wittman, vice president of marketing for Armstrong. “This just brought it more to the forefront. People have been trying to address it. This has really elevated the discussion.”
A little more than 51% of households served in Holmes County have access to internet speeds of 25 megabits per second for downloads and 3 megabits per second for uploads, the definition of the minimum speed for broadband internet by the Federal Communications Commission, according to Connected Nation Ohio.