Representatives with Choptank Electric presented an update last week on ongoing broadband improvements efforts throughout Worcester County.
Choptank Electric Cooperative’s targeted area to provide high-speed internet service in the central part of Worcester County is pictured in red.
File map courtesy Worcester County Government
By Bethany Hooper, Associate Editor
Representatives with Choptank presented officials last week with an update on ongoing broadband improvements throughout Worcester County.
In July, the Worcester County Commissioners asked staff to arrange a meeting with the county’s internet service providers to provide a broadband update. And on Tuesday, officials heard from Choptank representatives regarding the company’s efforts to expand broadband access.
“Overall, we have offered broadband service to 1,112 locations in Worcester County,” Valerie Connelly, vice president of government affairs and public relations for Choptank, told commissioners last week. “Today we have 471 active customers.”
During the presentation, Connelly reported Choptank Fiber began deployment in 2021 and has since passed more than 13,000 locations. In Worcester County, the company has either acquired service locations from Bay Country Communication or has launched its own projects, many of which were funded through ARPA dollars, state infrastructure grants, or county grants.
Officials told commissioners Tuesday that roughly 42% of county residents with service availability have subscribed to Choptank Fiber. They added that they expect to surpass their subscription estimates as more people have a chance to sign up for broadband.
“So all 1,100 could take service,” Connelly said. “Not everyone’s taken it immediately. Sometimes people are waiting to live out a contract that they have with another provider. But each one of those locations has availability at the end of their driveway, or the end of wherever their property is. So whether the current resident or the next resident wants to come in and take service, we can make service available most likely within two weeks because it’s already there at the end of their lane or the end of their driveway and ready to go.”
Connelly added that Choptank is also exploring other opportunities for future projects. For example, she said the Office of Statewide Broadband recently awarded Worcester County $1.1 million in grant funding to reach residents with long lanes or a “difficult to reach” premises.
“It provides $1.1 million for the county to partner with internet service providers to reach people that may have got skipped along the way because they have very long lanes and it was expensive and they didn’t want to pay the $7,000 or $10,000 or $15,000 they were quoted in the past by a provider to bring service to their location,” she said.
Connelly said Choptank is also working to secure federal BEAD funds, which can be used to extend broadband to unserved locations. She said the state is currently in the “challenge process,” during which the county and internet service providers can challenge locations that report no service.
“It’s important that any location that is known to be unserved be identified during this process so that this grant funding money can be used to serve those locations in the future,” she said.
Company officials also reviewed Choptank’s pricing for residential customers, as well as programs to assist low-income households. When asked how much money the county has provided Choptank to expand broadband access, Connelly said it was more than $1 million.
“You’ve made significant funding available,” she said, “and we appreciate that because it’s really helping us reach people who didn’t have an opportunity before.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners also approved their consent agenda, which included two broadband expansion grant agreements – one with Choptank and another with Talkie Communications. Each company is proposing a $500,000 match to a $500,000 county grant.