Broadband Internet Access Expanding Across Western Howard County With $1.7M Investment

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — More than 350 homes across western Howard County soon will have access to high-speed internet.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced Tuesday new funding that will expand access to broadband internet in rural western Howard County through a partnership with the state of Maryland and Verizon that will provide a total of $1.7 million.

"This investment will provide critical connectivity in a rural area that has long struggled with limited internet access and help make us a national model for digital equity for rural communities. We are proud to leverage our fiber infrastructure and state funding to make this project a reality," Ball said at a news conference.

In 2021, Ball launched Transform Howard, a transformational blueprint for digital equity and inclusion in Howard County. So far, under that initiative, the Howard County Public School System has increased its broadband capacity in school buildings and free Wi-Fi has been added at 22 locations around the region, including public libraries, public parks and fire stations.

One sector that's grateful for the broadband internet expansion is the ag industry.

“The agricultural community uses broadband access as an essential tool for modern agricultural production. Not only does it allow farmers to do simple tasks like follow commodities markets and communicate with customers, it has also become a necessary component in the data collection and analysis tools farmers are using both in their livestock operations as well as maximizing their crop yields. Broadband access is the next step to help reduce their environmental impact and help Howard County farms remain sustainable for many years to come,” said Leslie Bauer, Howard County Farm Bureau.

The project will begin later this year, Ball shared at the news conference.