Ohio Telecom Association rebrands as the Ohio Broadband & Technology Association
Key Highlights
- The name change to Ohio Broadband & Technology Association reflects the industry's shift towards broadband and digital connectivity.
- OBTA's membership includes telecom providers, wireless companies, and over 100 associate members supporting the industry’s growth.
- The association has invested over $1 billion in broadband infrastructure in Ohio over the past decade.
- Ohio is leveraging federal and state funds, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to expand high-speed internet access.
- Recent projects include a $20 million fiber network along U.S. Route 30 to serve 15 counties and critical facilities.
The Ohio Telecom Association (OTA), the statewide trade association representing telecommunications companies in Ohio, is changing its name to the Ohio Broadband & Technology Association (OBTA) to better reflect its evolving mission centered on broadband service advocacy.
Today, OBTA represents 42 telecommunications providers, two wireless providers, and more than 100 associate member companies that supply goods and services to the telecommunications industry.
Ted Heckmann, board chairman of the newly renamed OBTA and VP of regulatory and government affairs for altafiber, said the name change reflects the telecom industry’s coalescence around broadband.
“This is the natural next step in the evolution of our association and our industry,” he said. “Today, whether you're a phone company, a cable provider, a network operator, a technology company or even a data center, everyone is focused on the same fundamental mission: building and expanding broadband networks. Our new name more accurately reflects that reality.”
An evolving mission
Having launched in 1895, the initial mission of the organization, which was initially known as the Ohio Telephone Association, was, not surprisingly, to support and promote the growth of the early telephone industry.
It was the first association of its kind in the country.
As the telecom industry in Ohio continued to evolve, the name changed to the Ohio Telecommunications Industry Association and later to the Ohio Telecom Association.
OBTA said this latest change follows that same pattern, recognizing broadband is a high-speed, always-on connection — delivered through fiber, cable or DSL — that moves far more data than traditional phone networks ever could.
Trint Hatt, executive director of OBTA, noted that the new name and enhanced membership do not alter its mission.
“We will continue to promote the common interests of our members and help the public and policymakers understand the essential role our industry plays in building the networks that connect people through words, pictures and data,” he said. “Bringing the companies that build and rely on that connectivity together under one banner strengthens the entire industry and enhances our ability to serve consumers and businesses.”
Scaling Ohio’s broadband investments
Today, OBTA represents 42 telecommunications providers, two wireless providers, and more than 100 associate member companies that supply goods and services to the telecommunications industry.
Together, these companies employ more than 16,000 Ohio citizens.
Over the past decade, OBTA’s member companies have invested more than $1 billion a year to develop broadband networks across Ohio and to increase the speed and capacity of those networks.
To complement these efforts, the state has invested roughly $300 million under Gov. DeWine via the Ohio Broadband Strategy, which focuses on improving access for two groups: the unserved and underserved. An estimated 300,000 households in Ohio, representing close to 1 million Ohioans, lack access to high-speed internet.
An additional $800 million+ in federal funding has supplemented state efforts—including investments from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the BEAD program—to bring better internet access to rural and other underserved areas.
But Ohio realizes that last-mile connectivity is only one part of the broadband equation. The state is also investing in new middle mile networks to backhaul wireline broadband traffic.
In late July, Ohio announced that it is investing $20 million to expand the state’s broadband infrastructure across 15 counties.
Through BroadbandOhio’s Route 30 Middle-Mile Infrastructure Project, Com Net, Inc. will receive $20 million to construct a fiber network spanning Ohio from east to west.
The new network will follow the U.S. Route 30 corridor, which crosses 15 counties and runs near numerous schools and higher education institutions, healthcare facilities, local governments, businesses, and other critical facilities, including Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base, home of the 179th Cyberspace Wing, and the Mansfield Industrial Park.
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About the Author
Sean BuckleySean Buckley
Sean is the Editor-in-Chief of Lightwave. He establishes and executes Lightwave's editorial strategy across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products. Before coming to Lightwave in July 2023, he served as editor of Broadband Communities. Earlier, he served as senior editor of FierceTelecom and the editor of the former Telecommunications Magazine. He got his start in the optical industry in 1998 when he became the editor of enterprise and optical networks at Information Gatekeepers. He has a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and lives in Dracut, Mass, with his wife, two sons, and his cat, Dove.
