Image
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Maryland Awards $92 Million In Grants For 35 Projects
By
on
Maryland officials have announced that the state is doling out $92 million in new broadband grants to expand access to affordable broadband. The latest round of funding was made possible via the Connect Maryland Network Infrastructure Grant Program, and will help expand broadband access to 14,500 unserved locations statewide.
According to a state press release, this latest round of funds should help fund portions of 35 different projects scattered around the state. A full breakdown of award winners indicates that while Comcast and Verizon secured $14.4 million and $11 million respectively in new funding, smaller ISPs and cooperatives were, unlike in many states, well represented.
Quantum Telecommunications, a smaller local ISP founded in 1995, was slated to receive $15.3 million in funding to connect 1,693 locations to broadband. Choptank Electric Cooperative, first founded in 1938, was among the biggest award winners, receiving $16 million to deliver broadband to 1,693 locations currently lacking broadband access.
Image
Choptank Electric Cooperative has been particularly active on the Eastern shore of the state. The coop is currently in the middle of a ten-year plan to connect 54,000 of its members in nine Maryland counties to the coop’s 650 mile core fiber network. The project is anything but simple, and involves driving fiber into an electricity service territory 10,000 square miles in scope.
Additional grant winners included Bay Country Communications ($3.6 million), Talkie Communications ($6.4 million), and Easton Utilities ($3.1 million). Shentel Fiber, fresh off an announcement of its plans to deliver symmetrical 5 gigabit per second (Gbps) fiber, also received $9.4 million to expand fiber access in Frederick County.
“Internet access is essential for Marylanders to have a pathway to receive critical information, be involved with their communities and participate in the local economy,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said of the latest funding. “These awards help ensure that the infrastructure exists to make Maryland more equitable.”
Image
The Connect Maryland Network Infrastructure Grant program was created in 2017, and is technically part of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. State officials say the program has already invested more than $270 million into broadband infrastructure and programs, expanding access to 52,000 previously unserved state residents.
“Broadband is the utility that will determine economic outcomes in much the same way water and sewer systems have been for the past 150 years,” Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day said of the state’s latest awards. “Full participation in the digital economy is essential for resolving inequities for countless Marylanders and the Office of Statewide Broadband is committed to closing the digital divide.”
While the announcement is good news for broadband hungry Marylanders, especially those living in rural areas, in cities like Baltimore, where the market is dominated by Comcast, closing the massive digital divide there is more challenging, which has given rise to creative nonprofit initiatives such as Project Waves.
Geoterm
Related Stories
Cabot, AR Deploys 10 Gbps Capable City-Owned Fiber Network
Construction on a new city-owned fiber network in Cabot, Arkansas will soon bring affordable broadband access to every city resident and business in the state’s “Strawberry Capital.” The network comes courtesy of a partnership with Connect2First, the broadband subsidiary of local power company First Electric Cooperative Corporation, which continues to build on its significant presence across Arkansas.
Ruston, Louisiana Gives Up, Will Sell City-Owned Fiber Network
Ruston, Louisiana officials say they’re throwing in the towel, and will be selling a city-owned fiber network that has existed for the better part of 15 years. City officials say they finalized the decision at a city council meeting earlier this month, though they’d already sent out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for potential bidders as early as February.
USDA ReConnect Amps Up Broadband Funding to Tribal Nations
Colorado River Indian Tribe was among a handful of Tribes that received substantial funding awards from the USDA ReConnect Grant Program, a reminder that Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is not the be-all-end-all of funding for Tribal broadband.
Anti Muni Broadband Budget Amendment Gets Nixed in New York
Advocates for better Internet access are breathing a sigh of relief in New York as the State Assembly nixed a budget bill amendment that would have undermined the state’s municipal broadband grant program.
Broadband Bills To Enhance Local Autonomy Thwarted By Wisconsin State Senate
In a setback to efforts aimed at enhancing broadband access across Wisconsin, the state Senate this week dealt a blow to three key bills aimed at improving various aspects of broadband provision.
New $4 Million Open Access Project Brings Fiber Service To Rural West Virginia
A new $4 million project funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission and the U.S. Economic Development Administration will help bring affordable fiber broadband to long underserved parts of West Virginia. The project primarily targets the rural counties of Randolph and Tucker, long stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide.