Not every Ohioan lives in digital age

• Despite gains in broadband access over the past five years, Ohio's southeastern counties remains the least connected.
• In 2013, 63 percent of households in rural, Appalachian counties subscribed to home broadband services compared to 72 percent of households statewide.
• In 2013, 92 percent of Appalachian households have access to broadband services superior to dial-up, but 63 percent of households take advantage of them.

If you think your Internet speed is slow, try living in some of Ohio's Appalachian counties where up to one third of households are still living with dial-up or no Internet.

Despite gains in broadband access over the past five years, Ohio's southeastern counties remain the least connected, said Stu Johnson, executive director of Connect Ohio, a nonprofit organization focused on improving access to Internet and technology. The group's five-year, federal grant runs out soon, so its members gave a final evaluation of Ohio's connectivity last week. The Federal Communication Commission will continue to map Ohio's access.

In 2013, 63 percent of households in rural, Appalachian counties subscribed to home broadband services compared to 72 percent of households statewide. Those figures have increased from 2008 when 34 percent of Appalachian households and 55 percent of Ohio households had in-home service, according to Connect Ohio's annual survey.

What constitutes acceptable broadband services is a moving mark. Five years ago, 768 Kbps was standard for broadband — fast enough to download a 4 MB song in 21.3 seconds. But that speed has increased with the "insatiable demand" for Internet access, Johnson said.

Now, the Federal Communication Commission defines 4 Mbps as the standard, but could increase the acceptable speed to 10 Mbps, Johnson said. That would leave parts of Ohio in the dust as about 150,000 household still don't have access to 768 Kbps, which is a little faster than dial-up.

"The original theme was getting people access. Now, it's what is the speed? How many providers are available? Is it competitive?" Johnson said.

In Licking County, 96.9 percent of households have access to broadband with 768 Kbps download speeds — the old standard, according to Connect Ohio. About 92.5 percent have access to 1.5 Mbps download speeds — fast enough to download a 1 MB book in 2.7 seconds and the 4 MB song in 10.7 seconds.

In rural areas, there are fewer houses that are spread further apart, making it less lucrative for businesses to run lines for broadband access there, Johnson said. In Appalachian counties, the hills and valleys impede connectivity as well, he said.

"There are pockets (of unserved households) everywhere. There's a concentration in rural Ohio, which is exacerbated in Appalachian Ohio because of hilly terrain," Johnson said.

The problem is not always access — 92 percent of Appalachian households have access to broadband services superior to dial-up, but 63 percent of households take advantage of them, according to a 2013 Connect Ohio poll.

Across Ohio and the world, four factors determine whether someone will use the Internet: relevance — some say they don't need to be online; digital literacy — they don't know how to type or use the technology; access to equipment; and the monthly costs, Johnson said.

In inner city schools, the problem might be monthly costs; In Appalachian counties, the barriers often are digital literacy and equipment, Johnson said: "The Internet hasn't been as relevant."

Access to reliable Internet service is important because more policies are being enacted with the assumption Ohioans can reach a computer, Johnson said. Posting a resume online, contacting a physician through Web videos and applying for health care through a website can be a challenge, he said.

"That's not quite as easy for some as it is for others," he said.

jbalmert@gannett.com

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Twitter: @jbalmert