Connect Maryland: Board of Public Works Approves $30 Million for Laptops to Improve Internet Access For Underserved Households – The Southern Maryland Chronicle

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan as we speak introduced that the Maryland Board of Public Works accepted a contract of as much as $30 million for the Workplace of Statewide Broadband to supply laptops to underserved households to assist tackle the digital divide. The contract will present internet-capable gadgets for an estimated 150,000 Maryland households.

“This transformative initiative will present extra Marylanders with the expertise they should have dependable, high-speed web,” Governor Larry Hogan stated. “By means of the Workplace of Statewide Broadband and our Join Maryland initiative, we now have elevated entry to broadband for tens of hundreds of households by infrastructure enhancements and digital fairness initiatives.”

The Maryland Division of Housing and Neighborhood Growth (DHCD), the place the Workplace of Statewide Broadband is housed, will companion with native governments and neighborhood companions to distribute the gadgets following particular standards. Jurisdictions will be capable of apply in early November at https://dhcd.maryland.gov/Broadband/.

“Maryland has carried out modern applications to supercharge its funding to deal with the dearth of common entry to digital providers and expertise,” DHCD Secretary Kenneth C. Holt stated. “By working with native jurisdictions and stakeholders all through the state, we can ship these gadgets to those that want it most effectively and successfully attainable.”

Join Maryland. Final yr, the governor introduced the Join Maryland initiative to make sure common broadband statewide, with a complete new funding of $400 million.

Workplace of Statewide Broadband. Created by govt order in 2017, the Workplace of Rural Broadband was established to develop broadband capabilities statewide in underserved, rural areas of Maryland. Recognizing that there are totally different wants past rural areas and that totally different options could also be wanted, it was re-codified because the Workplace of Statewide Broadband in 2021. 

The Workplace has invested roughly 200 million {dollars} in broadband infrastructure, entry tasks, and applications. These efforts have offered high-speed web entry to an estimated 30,000 unserved households statewide.