MANSFIELD — The U.S. 30 route across Ohio was officially designated in 1926, a highway that crosses the northern part of the state through largely rural areas.
That federal highway number was assigned to a historic east-west route that followed the path of the Lincoln Highway, America’s first transcontinental road for automobiles.
Fast forward exactly one century.
A new “highway” will soon spring up along that same path, this one providing a high-speed broadband connection officials hope will spur the next 100 years of economic growth.
A $20 million state contract from the Ohio Department of Development with Ohio-based Com Net, Inc. to build the 257-mile connection was announced Thursday afternoon during a Richland County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Peter Voderberg, chief of BroadbandOhio, said he knows of no other broadband project of similar magnitude as the Route 30 Middle-Mile Infrastructure Project.
The project, first discussed locally in 2023, was officially established through Ohio’s biennial budget approved a year ago.
“There’s been a lot back and forth. We’re really proud to be here,” Voderberg said.
“This project has gone through many different iterations to make sure that we were on the right path,” he said.
“It’s taken a long time to get here, but here we are.”
The goal of the project is to deliver reliable, high-speed internet service to communities along the corridor, including Richland, Ashland and Crawford counties, through a largely-underground fiber optic cable.
The cable will follow the path of U.S. 30, largely using existing right-of-way not far from the highway.
‘Access to high-speed internet is now becoming a necessity’
Voderberg asked those in attendance Thursday to raise their hand if they would accept their “dream job” if it meant living in a house that had no high-speed internet. Few hands went up, save for Richland County Commissioner Darrell Banks.
“Having access to high-speed internet is now becoming a necessity more than ever, right?” Voderberg said. “It’s a lot like water, it’s a lot like gas, it’s a lot like sewer, it’s a lot like the things that we take for granted … like electricity.
“If we don’t have internet, a lot of us wouldn’t take a job, wouldn’t go move to an area, wouldn’t move to a house, right?
“So it is becoming more and more important that projects like this exist so that we can make sure that everyone all across Ohio, no matter where you live, has access to the high-speed internet that you need to be able to just function anymore, to be able to talk to family and friends, to watch Netflix, to use telehealth and to work from home.
“All those things require high-speed internet and so that’s why we’re super excited to be part of this project,” Voderberg said, saying the connection would be “the gold standard for high-speed internet” in the country.
“Businesses will have the connectivity they need to grow and reach new markets. Students will have better access to the tools and resources they need to succeed. Families will have greater access to healthcare and other important services.
“And entrepreneurs will have more freedom to build something right here at home while reaching customers around the world,” Voderberg said.
‘Reliable high-speed internet starts with the right infrastructure’
The path crosses 15 counties and runs near numerous schools and higher education institutions, healthcare facilities, local governments, businesses, and other critical facilities, including Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base, home of the 179th Cyberspace Wing, and the Mansfield Industrial Park.
“Reliable high-speed internet starts with having the right infrastructure,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a press release on Thursday.
“This project will significantly improve connectivity for those living and working along Route 30, providing easier access to the online tools that are necessary in today’s economy,” the governor said.
Voderberg said the “middle-mile” connection serves as the backbone of a broadband network, carrying large amounts of data between communities and the broader internet.
Expanding this infrastructure can reduce barriers for internet service providers seeking to extend high-speed service to homes and businesses, he said. A Columbus-based company, Ohio Gig, will handle the actual construction.
ODOD Director Lydia Mihalik said in a written statement that the broadband connection “will help communities along Route 30 compete, grow and attract new investment.
“By strengthening one of northern Ohio’s key economic corridors, we’re creating new possibilities for businesses and communities from one side of the state to the other,” she said.
Under the agreement, CNI will make the new middle-mile infrastructure commercially available for at least 20 years. The company based in Wapakoneta will have 24 months from the start of construction to complete the project.
The project also includes construction of a “Point of Presence” serving Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base and the 179th Cyberspace Wing.
A PoP is a physical access point that connects different networks, allowing data to be exchanged efficiently between them. It serves as a relay station where internet traffic is processed and redirected to its destination, reducing the time it takes for information to travel across the web.
The local PoP will provide an important access point to the new fiber network and increase capacity available to support the base, nearby industrial and commercial development and expanded connectivity throughout the region.
The project will include construction of the fiber network, partnerships with major anchor tenants, and additional infrastructure designed to improve network reliability, according to ODOD.
The Ohio Academic Resources Network will oversee the state’s use of fiber capacity made available through the project. That capacity may also be available to eligible community anchor institutions, such as schools, libraries, healthcare facilities and other public institutions.
OARnet is a state-funded, high-speed fiber-optic telecommunications organization that provides advanced networking, cloud computing, and IT solutions. Established in 1987, it operates as a division of the Ohio Technology Consortium under the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
(Below are photos taken during a Richland County Board of Commissioners meeting Thursday afternoon announcing a state contract to build the U.S. 30 broadband project across Ohio. The story continues below the images.)
Credit for launching idea goes to Dr. Dorey Diab
In January 2024, the Richland County Board of Commissioners met with state and local officials to launch formal discussions about the project, a group that included leaders of the new Ohio Air National Guard 179th Cyberspace Wing based at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport.
But the idea behind the proposal goes even further back.
Richland County Commissioner Tony Vero credited North Central State College President Dr. Dorey Diab for helping to launch the project a year prior.
“He approached me (at a Richland Community Development Group) meeting about a year ago. He said, ‘Hey, commissioner, are you going to earn your paycheck and start expanding broadband in Richland County?’” Vero said at the 2024 meeting.
The comment helped to spur a local group that included Vero, Diab, then-Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development President Jodie Perry and Barrett Thomas, the chamber’s economic development director.
Diab said during the initial meeting that broadband access in today’s world should be considered like any other necessary utility.
“Internet and more specifically, high-speed broadband capacity, is becoming like a utility, like electricity and water,” Diab said.
“Whether it’s for business, whether it is for the population in the county and things like that, you cannot do without it anymore. And as far as the campus is concerned, it’s about teaching, it’s about research, it’s about online delivery.”
Officials pushed for the project, an effort that was rewarded in the two-year state budget July 1 with $20 million in funding.
ODOD in November issued a “request for proposals” to build the fiber line. Voderberg said many companies expressed interest and three submitted proposals.
Companies had until Feb. 2 to submit proposals, which were evaluated and scored by a panel in May.
179th Cyberspace Wing official praises project
Lt. Col. Walt Borowicz, deputy commander of the 179th Cyberspace Wing’s Mission Support Group, praised the plan on Thursday.
“The completion of the Route 30 broadband project provides the 179th Cyberspace Wing with critical high-speed fiber infrastructure, directly enhancing operational capabilities, supporting mission readiness and improving connectivity in the community,” Borowicz said.
“As the Air National Guard’s first dedicated cyberspace wing, the unit relies on robust, secure and resilient networks. This infrastructure upgrade helps us to bolster and scale our capabilities to meet evolving national security demands,” Borowicz said.
“With more than 75 years of deep roots in Mansfield, the 179th remains committed to growing and modernizing alongside the community we serve,” he said.
Vero said the project may expand beyond Ohio.
“This project got so much notoriety, we have also talked to stakeholders in other states about continuing the route all the way to Chicago. It’s pretty cool that a little initiative that started in Richland County, Ohio, could actually be responsible for running high-speed internet from the 179th … all the way to the east side of Ohio …. and all the way to Chicago,” Vero said.
Pankaj Shah, the executive director of OARnet, called the plan a “truly wonderful project.”
“OARnet is a division of the Ohio Department of Higher Education and we operate the network that spans 5,500 miles of fiber across the state.
“We connect thousands of entities …. that’s millions of Ohioans literally in their daily lives … through K-12 and higher education, state and local government, healthcare, libraries, research, public broadcasting and believe it or not, emergency communication,” Shah said.
“We are absolutely woven into the public-private partnership model. That’s in our DNA, which is why we operate so well with BroadbandOhio.
“We’re going start leveraging (our many partnerships with) the idea that it will enable even more opportunities to our communities,” he saud.
Aaron Holtz, CEO of CNI, said his company sees the project as an extension of the network it’s been building.
“We’re based in Wapakoneta, Ohio, if you know where that is … the boyhood home of Neil Armstrong is our claim to fame. But we certainly have many entities along the Route 30 area … our shareholders and other companies and partners that we do business with, including OARnet,” Holtz said.
