As a result of recent policies establishing the new FCC Emergency Broadband Benefit program, states are looking to identify ways to aggregate and identify all of the covered telecom services – to provide either broadband connectivity or devices, or both – available, at a low cost to more families during the pandemic.

Expanding Internet Access in Ohio

In 2020, the state of Ohio and the Lt. Governor’s Office worked on an exciting initiative to further the goal of providing Internet access to more underserved households in Ohio.

BroadbandOhio, working in conjunction with the Department of Education, built an opportunity to identify existing telecom education services, pricing, and supports for schools and their respective students. The result was that Ohio was not only successful in receiving numerous responses in its first round of the RFI, but it re-opened the RFI to a second round in January 2021. This optimal timing will help Ohio leverage forthcoming FCC Emergency Broadband Benefit funds effectively.

“We’ve had great response to the RFI with 49 service provider submissions, helping us build a public, transparent price list to help school districts and Information Technology Centers across Ohio purchase equipment and services for remote learning.  The information provided includes solutions ranging from access to hotspots, public WiFi, and take-home internet devices. The program is helping school districts compare prices and make decisions on the best technology to enhance learning for their students.”

Peter Voderberg, Chief of the Office of BroadbandOhio

Further Commitment by Ohio

The K-12 specific RFI is a part of a broader plan by Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor John Husted’s Office, which released an RFI for all fiber-optic and telecom rights-of-way controlled by the state to broadband providers to increase broadband access for residents. The state has planned to leverage seven assets to achieve wired or wireless access for all residents, including the ODOT Intelligent Transportation System, the U.S. 33 Smart Corridor and ODOT right of way, among others. 

And, in a further nod to the importance of broadband access and affordability, Governor DeWine’s FY 2022-23 biennial budget proposal includes $250 million to support activities to bridge the digital divide.

Timing is everything.

States should be mobilizing action steps on how to leverage what could be millions of dollars in broadband and edtech funding coming from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. States can use a K-12 RFI (like the case of Ohio) as an efficient, data-rich approach to quantifying the “supply” side of the broadband equation.