Connecting the Cleveland Community: Low cost internet available starting January

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Mayor Justin Bibb and his administration partnered with the Cleveland City Council to fund $20 million towards city connectivity.

The plan aims to help ensure all parts of Cleveland have access to the internet, no matter the neighborhood or income level.

The company that will connect Cleveland is DigitalC.

DigitalC has been part of the Cleveland community for years, but now that they are working hand in hand with the city– they are excited to get started.

“I don’t have to say everything was easy, it absolutely was not,” C.E.O Joshua Edmonds said. “I think that there was different levels of understanding to what we wanted to see, but it’s great to see that people set their egos aside and said ‘What’s best for Cleveland?’”

The plan will begin to take effect in January, impacting 23,500 households.

DigitalC plans to start their connections on the east side of Cleveland.

“The internet connectivity is the gateway for opportunity, and so if we’re able to open up that gateway to more and more people, well then that puts Cleveland in a different environment,” Edmonds said. “Since 2014, we’ve been one of the least connected cities in the country. That has a direct correlation to healthcare, through telehealth. Has a direct correlation to (the) workforce, through education– through basic well-being. So, if we’re able to then have an affordable infrastructure that’s put in place– that’s gonna transform the city, and that’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.”

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