East Cleveland, Ohio, Dec. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AT&T and JobsOhio are announcing today a partnership to build a state-of-the-art fiber network that will make high-speed internet accessible to the entire city of East Cleveland, including the homes of all 14,000 residents and all businesses. The city of East Cleveland is investing $1 million in the project, which will also be assisted by a $1.9 million JobsOhio Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP) grant.

“This partnership is a significant step toward bridging the digital divide in East Cleveland and providing local residents and businesses with the connectivity they need to grow and thrive in today's digital world,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “The infrastructure created through this collaboration will go far to support economic growth, education, healthcare, and overall community development.”

The City of East Cleveland selected AT&T as its provider of choice after a thorough Request for Proposal (RFP) process, which was supported by JobsOhio and guided by a team of external broadband experts. AT&T tailored a comprehensive solution to deploy, operate, and maintain a broadband internet network for East Cleveland residents that not only helps support the technology needs of today but is a future-proof network design supporting the advancement of evolving and emerging technologies.

“Bringing fast and reliable AT&T Fiber to East Cleveland shows how we’re helping to close the digital divide through public-private partnerships,” said AT&T Ohio President Molly Kocour Boyle. “We have a long history of connecting businesses and residents in Northeast Ohio, and we look forward to working with JobsOhio and the city of East Cleveland and bringing the fastest and most cost-effective long-term internet solution to this community.”

JobsOhio’s support started with the desire to get high-speed internet to seven strategic development sites along Euclid Avenue, Noble Road, and Superior Avenue corridors. The fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network will be capable of delivering hyper-gigabit per second service speeds to the city’s residents and deliver 99% network reliability, allowing every resident and business the opportunity to obtain high-speed internet at a level of their choosing. AT&T has also agreed to provide value-added services, including 24/7 customer support, affordable offerings for low-income qualified households and digital literacy education for residents.

The anticipated project timeline is 24 months from start to finish to cover the 3.1 square mile city in fiber. This will be among Ohio’s first cities with 100% high-speed fiber coverage.

“Having access to high-speed internet is essential to participating in the modern economy,” said Lt. Governor Jon Husted. “Our administration has prioritized closing the digital divide across the state through the Ohio Broadband Strategy, and it’s great to see this JobsOhio and AT&T partnership focused on connectivity in East Cleveland, which will supplement our efforts in the region and make expanded internet a reality for those living and working in the community.”

AT&T is extremely passionate about bridging the digital divide with a mission to provide high-speed broadband connectivity to underserved, marginalized, and rural communities so that everyone has equal access to the resources needed to thrive in today’s ever-changing society. For example, improved access allows navigating telework, telehealth, distance learning, and social networking. In alignment with this commitment, AT&T will pay 50% of the $5.9 million East Cleveland project and be responsible for any cost overruns.

“Establishing reliable and widely accessible internet is essential to building talent and improving the competitive position of both East Cleveland and the state of Ohio,” said JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef. “This collaborative partnership will provide every resident and business in East Cleveland the opportunity to have the most advanced offering in high-speed fiber connectivity at an affordable rate once completed."

From 2011 to 2023, AT&T contributed $19.4 million to local Ohio charitable organizations. In 2023, employees spent over 8,000 volunteer hours on community outreach activities.

In the Greater Cleveland market area, including East Cleveland, AT&T has invested to build a strong digital infrastructure foundation. From 2019 to 2023, AT&T invested more than $550 million in wireline and wireless networks in the Greater Cleveland market. AT&T’s investments have made AT&T Fiber available to more than 840,000 customer locations across 130 cities statewide, and 28.3 million consumer and business locations nationally, with more than 2.4 million strand miles of fiber-optic cable in Ohio.

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About AT&T
We help more than 100 million U.S. families, friends and neighbors, plus nearly 2.5 million businesses, connect to greater possibility. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to our 5G wireless and multi-gig internet offerings today, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. For more information about AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), please visit us at about.att.com. Investors can learn more at investors.att.com.

About JobsOhio
JobsOhio is a private nonprofit economic development corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion. The organization also works to seed talent production in its targeted industries and to attract talent to Ohio through Find Your Ohio. JobsOhio works with seven regional partners across Ohio: Dayton Development Coalition, Lake to River, Ohio Southeast, One Columbus, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership and Team NEO. Learn more at www.jobsohio.com. Follow the company on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

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• AT&T

Matt Englehart
JobsOhio
614-300-1152
englehart@jobsohio.com