Broadband Lake-to-River Backbone Fiber Expansion

Broadband Study and Proposal

The Eastgate Regional Council of Governments conducted a Regional Broadband Feasibility Study to evaluate Broadband Internet Service throughout Ashtabula, Trumbull, and Mahoning Counties.

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Broadband Study Kickoff Livestream - Tuesday, June 29th at 1:30pm

State Route 11 Engineering Analysis

Eastgate is advancing the Regional Broadband Feasibility Study recommendation to deliver robust communications infrastructure to the region. The end goal is to bring reliable, high-speed broadband internet access to residents, businesses, and key project stakeholders in the region and eliminate the current digital divide.

This implementation plan builds upon the feasibility study and facilitates a plan for the build-out of an open-access middle-mile fiber optic cable backbone within Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning, and Columbiana Counties. This middle-mile network will be constructed along State Route 11 (SR-11) utilizing the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) right-of-way (ROW) from the approximate limits of Lake Erie (Ashtabula County) to the Ohio River (Columbiana County).

Read The Implementation Plan

Broadband Accessibilty Maps

Ashtabula

Trumbull

Mahoning

Columbiana

Broadband News

Request For Proposals - WRPA Trumbull Broadband Preliminary Engineering Study

3/14/2023

The Western Reserve Port Authority (“Port”) is seeking proposals from qualified firms to conduct a study to analyze the proposed completion of a fiber optic loop that will provide high-speed broadband service to regional businesses and historically underserved communities to aid in the region's ongoing equitable economic recovery. The Trumbull County Broadband Preliminary Engineering Study (“Study”) will help implement the recommendations of Eastgate's Regional Broadband Feasibility Study and ensure digital equity in the coal-impacted communities of Eastern Ohio Appalachia's Mahoning Valley. The study area encompasses multiple Opportunity Zones. 

The study will examine alternative broadband deployment routes including an analysis of existing providers who may already have ownership interests in proposed routes and an assessment of pole attachment costs. The study will also identify partnerships to deploy broadband services in the coal-impacted region and recommend innovative funding opportunities to leverage public-private investment in the project's implementation.

The study will focus on implementing the recommendations of the recently completed (June 2021) EDA-funded Eastgate Regional Broadband Feasibility Study and provide fiber service in some of the most unserved areas of the region. It will serve as the next step in developing detailed recommendations and fundable projects to deploy middle network and last-mile broadband in underserved portions of the Trumbull County.

The proposal may be mailed or delivered to:

Krista Beniston
Western Reserve Port Authority
100 E. Federal Street, Suite 422
Youngstown, OH 44503

The full RFP can be found at the button below.

READ THE FULL RFP

 

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