Horizon Telcom Inc.

The Appalachian Ohio Middle Mile Expansion project focuses on key gaps in Appalachian Ohio's open middle mile infrastructure. Building upon NTIA's previous investments in the Ohio Middle Mile Consortium (OMMC), the applicant's design reaches two counties currently lacking any open middle mile, establishes new POPs in three counties, and densifies the existing network in six additional counties. The design closes multiple rings, increases reliability and resiliency for the entire service area, and creates additional interconnection points among the original OMMC members. The proposed 239 miles of new fiber (primarily aerial) (minimum of 288 strands) will pass within 1,000 feet of 16,257 households, 525 Community Anchor Institutions, and 2,114 businesses. The project will provide dark fiber and lit capacity to ISPs, local telcos, and community institutions (schools, healthcare facilities, local government facilities) over the 239 new miles as well as over 711 existing miles of fiber. As a community benefit, the applicant intends to provide Indefeasible Rights to Use (IRUs) on the network to the K-12 Information Technology Centers (ITCs) serving school districts in the region (OME-RESA and META Solutions), the Southern Ohio Health Care Network (a high-speed fiber network that serves over 350+ health care facilities in 40 Ohio counties), and OARnet (the state's academic fiber network).