RURAL BROADBAND
Montgomery County wants to ensure that rural homes and businesses have access to the robust broadband that they need to thrive in our digital economy. The Agricultural Reserve is almost 30 percent of the land area of the County and contributes $282 million to our economy but is home to less than 2 percent of households. The cost to bring broadband to each rural property is higher than in the rest of the County: the ones that were the least expensive to reach mostly have service, and the ones that are the most expensive to serve are still waiting for service. The County efforts are focused on: (1) identifying where the unserved areas are; and (2) finding ways to expand broadband service to these properties
NEW LIMITED-TIME OPPORTUNITY – BROADBAND GRANT FUNDING
Do you live in a hard-to-reach area and need reliable high-speed internet? Do you have a home or business set far back from the road that makes it expensive to get internet? Help is here! The State of Maryland is offering a special grant to help bring broadband service to homes like yours. The Maryland Home Stretch – Difficult to Serve Properties Program (or Long Driveway Internet program as we’re calling it) works with local counties to help cover the cost of installing internet in areas where it can be expensive. Click HERE for more information.
BROADBAND OPTIONS FOR RURAL RESIDENTS
OBP Continues to Work to Expand Broadband Service Within the Agricultural Reserve
- Comcast and Verizon Cable and Broadband Service
Montgomery County has cable franchise agreements with Comcast and Verizon and can enforce requirements for cable service. Broadband service can be provided to cable customers. Both cable providers offer the most robust broadband service available to County residents and businesses. Fees range from $40 for 200 Mbps to $80 for 940 Mbps to $300 for 2 Gbps. Both providers are required to offer service to properties if they are within a specific distance from existing facilities (however, both providers may require additional fees based on the distance the structure on the property is from these existing facilities).
“The County is aware of 47 properties that do not have service from Comcast or Verizon. Comcast has received a Maryland broadband grant to provide service to 35 of these properties and construction is expected to be completed by December 2024. The County has requested that Maryland provide funding under the federal Broadband, Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) Act to bring broadband service to the remaining 11 unserved addresses in the Agricultural Reserve.
To file a complaint to request cable and broadband service on your behalf, use the Cable and Broadband Intake Form provide your address and contact information, leave the “Cable Provider” field blank, and write “Rural cable and broadband service requested from Comcast or Verizon” along with any additional information you would like us to know.
- SpaceX Starlink Satellite Service
Unbounded by traditional ground infrastructure, Starlink can deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable or completely unavailable. SpaceX believes that subscribers could receive broadband download speeds between 50 Mpbs and 150 Mbps, with latency of 20 ms to 40 ms with some interruptions to connectivity to be expected. Latency is the time it takes to send data from one point to the next. When satellites are far from Earth, latency is high, which may result in poor performance for activities like video calls and online gaming. Starlink satellites are over 60 times closer to Earth than traditional satellites, resulting in lower latency and the ability to support services typically not possible with traditional satellite Internet (see more information here).
- Telegia Fixed Wireless Service
Telegia uses fiber and licensed radios to wirelessly deliver broadband service to residences and businesses. Most residents will receive 10 Mbps service but some customers can receive 100 Mbps to 500 Mbps with additional fees and licensing. To express interest in Telegia service, use the Cable and Broadband Intake Form provide your address and contact information, leave the “Cable Provider” field blank, and write “Interested in Telegia service” along with any additional information you would like us to know.
RURAL BROADBAND REPORT 2021
The Office of Broadband Programs released the Rural Broadband Report. Over a period of two years, we conducted field surveys and postal surveys to identify 32.4 miles of roads and 327 properties in the Agricultural Reserve that do not have wired broadband service in 2021. The report also contains information on minimum broadband speeds needed for residential and home-based business service, and demand for broadband in the Ag Reserve. If there is information about the broadband status of a road or property in the Rural Broadband Report that should be corrected, please email us at [email protected], use Cable and Broadband Intake Form to provide this information, and call 311 and request to file a cable complaint about lack of service to reach our offices.
