Maps show where internet speeds still lag as Ohio tries to beef up business

When it comes to internet speeds, Lorain County is among the most well-connected spots in the state, according to new data from BroadbandOhio. Led by Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, the state initiative aims to expand high-speed data access to places where it has been lagging. Maps created from speed test records over a 15-month period show that huge parts of the state only have internet speeds under 10 Mbps. Those areas with the slowest speeds are mostly rural. As might be suspected, the metropolitan areas surrounding Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati have the best internet speeds. In Lorain County, 34 percent of the populated area and 11 percent of households do not have access to basic broadband with speeds of at least 25 Mbps for downloading and 3 Mbps for uploading. That means that of Lorain County's 147,121 households, there are 16,575 below that threshold — they are concentrated in and around Grafton, LaGrange, Oberlin and Wellington, according to Broadband Ohio. In those spots, there are 5,363 households with very low speeds of just 10 Mbps downloading and 1 Mbps uploading. Of the county's 486 square miles of populated area, 164 square miles are considered "unserved" at all, the study shows. Expanding broadband is important so that every Ohioan can be part of the modern economy, health care system and education systems, Husted said. "Especially as we become more global, and see more businesses expanding, it's going to become more and more important," said Anthony Gallo, president of the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce. When businesses look at where to locate, and how to strategically expand their empires, broadband is a key consideration, he said. That was true 10 and even 15 years ago, but many areas of Ohio haven't kept up. Cost is often the breaking point, since stretching cable and fiber optic lines across thinly populated areas isn't going to yield big returns. "It's going to be a deal-breaker, just because placing poles and doing what you need to get internet in every corner of the county isn't easy — we have a lot of agricultural areas, and placing infrastructure there is going to be very expensive," Gallo said. Mayor Hans Schneider said he's learned that lesson in Wellington, where after years of dealing with internet complaints two companies are now rolling out fiber optic networks. The end result, Schneider hopes, is that businesses will see that high-speed access and consider moving to town. Without faster internet, many won't even consider Wellington a possibility. "If they're looking at everything Wellington has to offer, and we're not where they need to be … that's going to knock us off the list," he said. "We're kind of isolated on the south end of the county." So far, businesses that have switched over to new North Coast Wireless and Armstrong fiber service "report back that it's night and day," he said. Employees have a better ability to work from home, and employers no longer have to worry about internet reliability. Small towns aren't the only crisis point. Not all cities are created equally, either, Gallo said. Broadband access is different in Avon and Avon Lake than it is in Elyria and Lorain, for example. Lorain Schools discovered that the hard way during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when classes went remote. Gallo recalled how many students couldn't attend classes from home "because there are going to be neighborhoods, poor neighborhoods, where internet just doesn't go." A large slice of federal relief money should be earmarked to roll out better broadband and spur economic development, he said. The BroadbandOhio maps were developed using "real-world, on-the-ground speed test information from actual internet customers to determine where there are gaps in coverage," according to his office. They are based on Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data licensed by the state between February 2020 and August 2021, showing data use at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also used were carrier filings of available speeds with the Federal Communications Commission and broadband deployment reports to the government. "These maps bring us one step closer to solving the digital divide in Ohio," said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development. "The additional detail will help us target areas with the greatest need to connect all Ohioans with critical resources, new economic opportunities, and an improved quality of life." Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.