Connect Ohio now has a dedicated team focused solely on last-mile assistance.
The mission of Connect Ohio’s Technical Outreach is to provide last-mile assistance to Ohio communities who lack access to Internet broadband. Assistance may be offered in the form of: identification of unserved areas, project planning, project management, meeting facilitation, research, wireless propagation studies, RFP/RFI consulting and grant writing assistance.
“The Technical Outreach position serves to supplement Connect Ohio efforts by putting more boots on the ground to assist stakeholders in navigating through the, often arduous, last-mile-landscape,” said Technical Outreach Coordinator Ira Dye.
Technical Outreach Advisors will continue to interact with local planning teams that currently exist. The Connect Ohio Last Mile Enablement Project will provide the infrastructure assessments for local stakeholders across the state to effectively determine the best practices to increase broadband capacity state-wide.
Connect Ohio will continue projects in mapping, data collection, service area validation, and last-mile enablement efforts for three additional years, which fulfills the five-year broadband mapping program required of each state by the federal government.
State Operations Managers are still working with counties across the state, but they have a specialized focus on the state’s broadband adoption initiatives.
