Internet service completed in Roaming Shores area

Warren Dillaway, Star Beacon, Ashtabula, Ohio
·2 min read

Oct. 1—ROAMING SHORES — A ribbon cutting took place Friday afternoon to celebrate the completion of a fiber optic project that will provide high- speed Internet service to 2,200 customers in the Roaming Shores and Rock Creek areas.

Kinetic by Windstream recently completed the project that took about one year, said Susan Schraibman, president of state operations for the company.

Local politicians and business leaders gathered for the ribbon cutting and expressed thanks for the project's completion.

Schraibman said the company is working with local leaders and state officials to provide more high speed Internet service to Ohio communities. She said the company works with state officials that provide grants for some of the infrastructure development.

Schraibman said the company has invest $2 billion into fiber optic systems. She said customers are the driving force behind the systematic changes.

"[Customers] tell us they want to be connected. ... Whether it is for work, or a virtual visit to a doctor or just to stream a movie," she said.

State Senator Sandra O'Brien, State Representative Sarah Fowler Arthur, a representative of Congressman David Joyce's office, Ariann Barile Smith, and Roaming Shores Jennie D'Amicone, Ashtabula County Commissioner J.P. Ducro and Rock Creek Chamber of Commerce President Robert Schultz. all attended the ribbon cutting and thanked the company leaders for completing the project.

Fowler-Arthur said she was excited to attend the ceremony after her participation in a similar event in Chardon a year ago.

Ducro said the company has been very responsive in trying to find solutions to Internet issues.

"If we can't have high-speed Internet we can't compete in a global economy," he said.

Barile-Smith said she moved to Roaming Shores when COVID-19 hit and did not have access to regular Internet and had difficulty communicating with her fiance, who was deployed.

"It tugs at the heart strings a little bit," she said.

Schraibman said the 2023 plans for developing Internet infrastructure have not been completed yet but there are hopes for more projects in Ashtabula County.