The Green County Commissioner has selected Cincinnati Bell to provide broadband expansion for rural areas in Green County, and the company plans to lay 5 million feet of fiber optic cable in the next few years.

Cincinnati Bell’s Dave Kramer said the company expects to begin providing broadband services to customers in the eastern half of Greene County in the next 18 months at a commissioner’s meeting earlier this month. In the next three to four years, it will invest in the construction of fiber optic infrastructure in Greene County, including in Senia, Bellbrook, Jamestown, and parts of Fairborn and Yellow Springs.

Greene County is using its $33 million US Rescue Program Act funds and part of the funds from Ohio's Residential Broadband Expansion Grant Program to fund the project. The cost of the project will be finalized later this year.

In Greene County, many residents have access to the Internet, but there is not enough broadband access. According to the Federal Communications Commission, sufficient broadband is 25 megabits per second for downloading files and 3 megabits per second for uploading files.

Green County Development Director Eric Henry said Green County was one of the first counties in Ohio to invest so much fiber.

The western half of the county is already served mainly by fiber optic lines, Cincinnati Bell, or other lines, but this expansion has not been seen in the eastern part of Greene County because it is primarily a rural area.

"It doesn't have enough population density to run the fiber," Henry said.

Cincinnati Bell stands out from other proposals because it connects fiber directly to users’ homes, Henry said. Instead of connecting optical fibers to wireless transmitters, the signal is transmitted directly from cables on the road to thousands of homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals.

"In essence, we are providing future-oriented services to the county," Henry said. "With the continuous advancement and advancement of technology, we will have a hard infrastructure suitable for it. Optical fiber is currently the best technology to provide broadband Internet, and it may continue for some time. Therefore, for business, education, and entertainment, we will have The best infrastructure to adapt and innovate."

In addition, it is durable, Kramer said.

"This will satisfy Green County's needs for your grandchildren," he said. "We are looking to the future."