Chief has backup plan for broadband service

By D.a. Wilkinson

An official said this area already has fiber-optic lines.

LISBON — Tracy Drake, the chief executive officer of the Columbiana County Port Authority, said he has a backup plan in case a new consortium fails to get funding to add more broadband and wireless service in the county.

The commissioners voted Wednesday to join the Southern Ohio Health Care Network and the Connecting Appalachia plan. The county is part of Appalachia.

The proposal would expand broadband service by expanding the Southern Ohio Healthcare Network in conjuction with the Connecting Appalachia Plan.

The 34 counties involved are south of Columbiana County.

But Drake said Thursday the county has had fiber-optic lines in place for years that have served area schools. The service has unused capacity.

The port authority recently obtained an option to use two of the unused lines.

Drake said of the commissioners, “I’m hedging their bet.”

Using the current lines would be less expensive than having to install more cable lines for the new system, Drake said.

The cost of the 34-county program is not known.

Developing a local plan, he said, will involve “going through a lot less hoops.”

Penny Traina, president of the commissioners, has said that the 34-county project has to be part of one submission to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

But she said that Drake’s plan could be a fallback if the proposal is rejected by the federal government.

wilkinson@vindy.com