Part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Funding Announced by President Biden will Help Close Digital Divide and Increase Digital Equity Efforts
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Wes Moore today announced that the state will deploy more than $267 million in federal funding to bring high-speed internet access to every Marylander. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will assist in closing the remaining gaps in high-speed Internet service in the state and expanding digital equity initiatives for Marylanders.
“This funding is critical to connecting every Marylander and to ensuring that all residents have access to the Internet so they can receive important information and participate in the economy,” said Gov. Moore. “We are grateful to our federal partners, and for the leadership that the Biden Administration and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration are showing to close the digital divide.”
The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Office of Statewide Broadband is developing a plan for how the funding will be deployed through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The Office of Statewide Broadband held four webinars and four outreach conferences this past spring to solicit feedback on what Marylanders and jurisdictions would like to see incorporated into the plan.
“Every Marylander should have access to high-speed Internet, which plays a pivotal role in shaping economic outcomes and is to equitable development today what water and sewer systems have been for the past 150 years,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. “The Office of Statewide Broadband is dedicated to bridging the digital divide and addressing disparities for residents across the state.”
President Joseph R. Biden today announced the funding allocations to all of the states as part of the Biden Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Each state’s funding is determined by a formula using the number of households and businesses that lack access to broadband. Since the Office of Statewide Broadband was founded, it has invested more than $300 million into broadband infrastructure and equity programs. That investment has provided high-speed internet access to an estimated 52,000 previously unserved homes and businesses statewide.
In 2022, the Office of Statewide Broadband received federal planning grants for the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program and the Digital Equity Act program. The funding is being used to develop the framework for deploying the funding to unserved and underserved broadband regions throughout the state, and providing resources to increase access to technology and education.
For more information about the Office of Statewide Broadband, visit: https://dhcd.maryland.gov/Broadband/.
