An Altafiber project to expand internet access in Warren County is moving slower than expected and soon will be without financial support from the government.
In 2023, commissioners pledged $4.8 million of Warren County’s roughly $45 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help Altafiber bring fiber-based broadband to 52,000 addresses.
Three years later, Altafiber told WVXU it has spent less than a third — about $1.5 million.
“They were kind of slowing down,” said County Administrator Martin Russell. “There wasn't as many doors that were being put into the invoices, and so we started asking questions.”
It’s an issue, Russell said, because Warren County faces an end-of-the-year deadline to use its ARPA funds or else send them back to the United States Treasury.
Russell, who will leave his role to work for the city of Middletown later this month, said county staff and commissioners decided to terminate the agreement with Altafiber and redirect the cash elsewhere.
“Altafiber doesn't want us to sit there and have to send it back to Treasury either,” Russell said, adding the “legalese” is still being worked out.
The remaining $3.3 million will likely go to other as-yet-unspecified ARPA projects because funding guidelines indicate the money can't be spent on a new project, Russell said.
The county has previously used ARPA funds to support the United Way food bank, supplement corrections officer salaries and get rid of a water softening fee levied on customers.
Russell said staff will provide suggestions to the county commissioners, with a new plan hopefully squared away by November.
Broadband expansion continues
In a statement to WVXU, Altafiber said, "Our commitment to expanding fiber access throughout Warren County remains unchanged, and we look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with county leaders to support the community's long-term broadband needs."
Altafiber said it independently pledged $100 million to the project, $50 million of which it has already spent. The company said it has brought connectivity to 20,000 homes and businesses in the county.
“That work continues today as we invest in the infrastructure needed to deliver reliable, high-speed internet access to more residents and businesses across the community,” the statement said.
The Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband map shows Altafiber ranking seventh in a list of the top 10 providers for the county, with about 60% of addresses able to access the company’s services.
Though an Altafiber spokesperson did not provide a reason for the project’s slower-than-expected progress, Russell said the company told Warren County staff it hit a snag getting permission to attach cables and equipment to electric companies’ poles.
“They said they had been working with the power companies and they thought they had a good cadence and they thought they would improve and speed that up,” Russell said. “I don't know that that came to full fruition.”
Under Ohio law, electric companies are required to provide access to their poles under “just and reasonable rates, terms and conditions.”
“I think it really just became a lot of bandwidth problems for the utility companies,” Russell said. “A lot of things were not anticipated.”
Duke Energy and AES Ohio did not respond to a request for comment.
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