More details needed on Cooperative, AWS partnership

Editor,

Last week Drew Van Dopp, the Chief Executive Officer of the Maryland Broadbank Cooperative, told your readers how critically important it is to let Amazon Web Services drill under Assateague so it can bring a cable from its data center in Ireland to the United States.  We learned last week at the Worcester County Commissioners meeting the back story is Maryland Broadband is looking to Amazon for a $40 million bail out if we agree to change our zoning to permit the cable from Ireland to land at our airport.

Maryland Broadband Cooperative has done a commendable job using state and federal taxpayer grants to lay cable throughout Maryland so our rural areas have reliable internet access.   The coop’s members include profitable businesses and governments, and its executives are paid handsome salaries and bonuses.  The CEO earned more than $400, 000.00 in salary and bonuses from the coop.  Apparently, this is in addition to what he earns as a vice president at Choptank Electric.

What we learned at last Tuesday’s meeting is while Maryland Broadband has been going to the taxpayers to build the broadband system it manages, the coop has failed to charge its members enough to maintain the system and replace cable and equipment when it reaches capacity.  So, Maryland Broadband’s CEO told our County Commissioners and Senator Mary Beth Corozza on Tuesday the cable connecting Ocean City is old, reaching its capacity. Users will be affected.  It will cost taxpayers $40 million to replace what’s in the ground now unless we agree to let Amazon lay its data cable from Ireland across Maryland.

Maybe this is a good deal, but the details of this agreement between Amazon and Maryland Broadband are murky, at best.  Our lawmakers gave Maryland Broadband a virtual monopoly over the right of ways Amazon needs and a mandate to get cable in the ground.  Unfortunately, our politicians at all levels apparently failed to tell Maryland Broadband that after the cable is buried, the coop’s members need to pay into reserves to maintain and upgrade the system.  And it doesn’t look like there was much oversight.  That’s why Maryland Broadband wants a bailout, and why the politicians need a savior so as internet traffic slows their constituents don’t start asking where our elected officials  were when better oversight was needed.

I’m all for world class broadband service.  I buy things from Amazon.  The fact is Amazon can land its cable from Ireland at existing facilities without drilling under Assateague.  The cost might be more than the $40 million bailout Maryland Broadband is seeking. But, for Amazon, the $40 million is pocket change.  Amazon has probably earned more than that in added stock value since announcing it cut a deal  and will have its cable from Ireland hooked up in the USA in 2028.

Stephen Katsanos
South Point