Cable television and internet company Spectrum is accusing AEP Ohio of frustrating efforts to extend broadband service to unserved and underserved areas of the state.
Spectrum on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, asking regulators to order AEP Ohio to speed up the process of approving applications from Spectrum that would give the company access to AEP poles for Spectrum wires.
“We’re trying to deliver broadband connections to Ohio residents and there’s a significant impediment to do that,” said Noel Dempsey, senior vice president of field operations for Spectrum. “Whether it’s Spectrum trying to bring our product or another entity, this is a major problem. It’s a significant disadvantage for Ohioans. It needs to get resolved.”
The complaint comes as the state and federal governments push to extend high-speed internet service throughout Ohio and the U.S. to areas that don’t have it as part of an effort to close the digital divide.
Spectrum serves 2.8 million customers in Ohio. It says that in 2022, more than $750 million was invested in its Ohio network, reaching 36,000 new homes and businesses.
Spectrum said in the complaint that it is combining $1 billion of federal money with $4 billion of its own money to connect nearly 1 million homes in 24 states, including 110,000 in Ohio.
Spectrum says nearly 70,000 poles are awaiting AEP Ohio approval, and more than 70% are in rural parts of Appalachia where broadband is desperately needed.
