MD to get $267.7M in federal funding to expand internet access

Listen to this article

More than $267 million in federal funding will be put towards providing Marylanders with affordable access to high-speed internet, Gov. Wes Moore announced Wednesday.

The project is part of Maryland’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment plan, which has moved forward after federal officials recently approved the state’s proposals. The funding will go towards reliable internet access to 21,000 underserved households and 14,000 homes with no broadband connectivity across Maryland, said Ronnie Hammond, director of the Maryland Office of Statewide Broadband.

“Thanks to robust federal support, we’re taking a big step forward in our work to connect every Marylander with affordable, high-speed internet,” Moore said in a Wednesday news release. “In order to leave no one behind, we need to get everyone online.”

The $267.7 million in funding will be used to upgrade high-speed internet networks across Maryland in many remote areas, according to Maryland Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. This includes many rural communities, including those in Garrett County and the Eastern Shore, Day said.

There were 97,000 households when the state first started the process of improving internet access This may be the last time the federal government will provide funding for this work, which will reach the last 21,000 households, Day said. The remaining funding from the project may support high-speed internet adoption, internet literacy training and workforce development efforts.

The BEAD plan became a cornerstone for the Biden administration’s “Internet for All” initiative, which aims to connect Americans with affordable and accessible internet. This program provided $42.45 billion in grants to communities across the nation.

President Joe Biden proposed the $65 billion investment into the “Internet for All” project after the COVID-19 pandemic showed the need for more accessible internet access, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The BEAD initiative will be split into two proposals. The first will create broadband mapping — which will determine areas where internet access is available — and target places that most need high-speed internet. The second outlines how the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development will use federal funds to achieve the initiative’s infrastructure, affordability and outreach goals.

The Office of Statewide Broadband aims for every Maryland household to have access to high-speed internet by 2030.