This time last year, Joshua Edmonds was preparing to face members of Cleveland City Council with mixed news. The nonprofit internet service provider he leads, DigitalC, had made progress in its mission to bring low-cost broadband internet to every resident of Cleveland. In 2023, when the city set aside federal money to fund the work, more than one-third of Clevelanders lacked the service.
But at the end of 2024, the year of the four-year, $20 million contract, DigitalC had fallen short in one of the key metrics. Edmonds touted what he called “unheard-of progress” but council still opted towithhold a $1 million payment.
This year, DigitalC says it has finished building its citywide network and connected 4,700 more Cleveland households to its $18 per month broadband service (or free if a CMSD student lives there). That brought the total number of households to more than 7,500. It also provided online skills training programs for 10,000 residents…