“Our residents will be able to access online educational opportunities, telehealth services, financial aid assistance, and have access to social platforms that they may not have at home,” said Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein. “Our recreational staff will have an opportunity to improve and make more robust programming, such as our after-school program for kids.”
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted visited the Greater Dayton Rec Center on Monday, as the state’s Office of BroadbandOhio allocated $250,000 towards the infrastructure, as part of a larger movement to close the so-called “digital divide.”
About 42% of Dayton’s households do not have access to broadband, or high-speed internet, which can negatively impact economic growth, household income, educational performance, healthcare access and job searches, the city previously told the Dayton Daily News.
Broadband internet is essential for connecting people with online education, increased telehealth opportunities, and applying for high-paying jobs, Husted said. As of Monday, 200,849 open positions were posted on the website of Ohio Means Jobs, 114,094 of which pay $50,000 a year or more, Husted added. Ohio has a unemployment rate at 3.9%, a record low, and there are only 35,000 people on unemployment in Ohio.
“There are at least three jobs that pay $50,000 a year or more for every one person. We’re creating jobs in Ohio faster than we can find people to fill them,” Husted said. “(If) you don’t have access to high speed internet, Wi-Fi, broadband, then you can’t participate in the modern economy, health care system or education system.”
Earlier this year, BroadbandOhio awarded $232 million in grants to 11 internet service providers across the state to make affordable high speed internet available to nearly 100,000 households that currently do not have access, said Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik. This includes both underserved urban communities and those in rural areas.
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