MD to receive $267.7 million in federal funds to expand Internet access – Maryland Daily Record

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More than $267 million in federal funds will be deployed to provide Maryland residents with affordable high-speed Internet access, 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 toward reliable Internet access for 21,000 underserved households and 14,000 homes without broadband across Maryland, said Ronnie Hammond, director of the Maryland Office of Broadband.

“Thanks to strong federal support, we’re taking a big step forward in our work to connect every Marylander to affordable, high-speed Internet,” Moore said in a news release Wednesday. “In order to leave no one behind, we have 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. That includes many rural communities, including those in Garrett County and the Eastern Shore, Day said.

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

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

President Joe Biden proposed investing $65 billion in 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 divided into two proposals. The first will create the broadband map – which will define the areas where internet access is available – and target the countries most in need of 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 State Broadband Office aims to have every household in Maryland have access to high-speed Internet by 2030.