Housing agency working on broadband
Spectrum to provide internet to more than 4,500
When the pandemic first struck last year, it quickly became apparent to officials at the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority and its board of commissioners that something had to be done to help their residents who were struggling to adapt to a virtual existence.
The residents couldn’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars a month paying for internet access, but they also couldn’t easily work from home, elearn, make telehealth appointments or talk to folks at the CMHA, which closed in-person operations.
“After COVID hit, it became very clear to me that our affordable housing portfolio didn’t have the access they needed to work with us,” CHMA chief operating officer Scott Scharlach said.
So the housing authority began last year exploring how to accomplish this and partnered with Charter Communications, better known as Spectrum, to provide broadband to more than 4,500 residents at 18 CMHA properties across
Columbus, free of charge.
The total cost of the project will not exceed $3.5 million over the next five years, which CMHA’S board of commissioners stipulated in its negotiations with Spectrum, but the housing authority was unable to provide a monthly cost analysis due to a signed confidentiality agreement.
Installation will finally begin next week and service will available to all CMHA properties by the end of May.
“We felt very strongly that having access to high-speed internet is almost like a utility,” Scharlach said. “All of our apartment communities have access – it’s hardwired for internet service, but cost is a barrier for our residents so we decided to pay for internet.”
This partnership is designed to bridge the digital divide in Columbus, specifically the financial barrier between low-wage earners and the service many advocates refer to as a “21st century utility.”
More than half of CMHA’S 4,000plus apartments are allocated for families earning 30% or less of Columbus’ median income, which is approximately $26,500 annually for a family of four, Scharlach said.
“You’re really behind the 8-ball without it,” he said of high-speed internet access.
A 2020 report released by The Columbus Foundation and conducted by AECOM, an international civil infrastructure research and planning company which has operations in Columbus, revealed that despite economic and technological barriers, the infrastructure is there and at least one high-speed internet provider is available in the poorest neighborhoods and communities.
Franklin County Board of Commissioners President Kevin Boyce said finding a way to build a connection between publicly funded institutions such as CMHA and private companies like Spectrum to expand access to underserved communities is imperative.
“I believe public policy and the actions that we take can be the catalyst to changing long-term situations such as the digital divide that negatively impacts the ability of students to learn and succeed in the classroom and in their community,” Boyce said in a release.
Recognizing the basic infrastructure was already laid made the decision a nobrainer for the housing authority.
“Our goal is to close digital divide within our housing communities, so we’re putting our money where our mouth is,” Scharlach said.
This broadband expansion effort is also an extension of Spectrum Community Solutions‘ goal to increase connectivity amid families in the communities the telecommunications giant serves that normally have significant financial roadblocks to access.
“This collaboration helps close the digital divide by providing high-quality, high-speed broadband for families who need reliable connectivity,” said Adam Ray, executive vice president of Spectrum’s community organization.
The housing authority hopes to offer older tenants (CHMA has 600-700 units serving senior citizens) educational opportunities to learn how to use a computer or navigate an ipad, Scharlach explained.
“Right now we’re working on how we’re going to be providing equipment and technological literacy classes,” he said.
“If a resident needs education or equipment, we’re hoping to fulfill that for them, for free or at least at a highly discounted rate.”
Scharlach said he hopes this initiative, which reflects the mission of the housing authority, will inspire other cities and even the federal government – the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development helps fund the CHMA – to prioritize broadband across the country.
“We feel it’s so important to do we’re willing to pay for it,” Scharlach said, “in hopes one day HUD will recognize it as a utility and help provide it to all of America’s lowest income families.”
Céilí Doyle is a Report for America corps member and covers rural issues in Ohio for The Dispatch.
Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one. Please consider making a taxdeductible donation at bit.ly/3fnsgaz. cdoyle@dispatch.com @cadoyle_18