DENTON, Md. - With the cutting of a ribbon, Choptank Fiber connects its first customer to broadband internet.
The state of Maryland is designating over $300 million in federal stimulus money to start building infrastructure for faster internet connection. With the help of some of the funds, Choptank Electric Cooperative is starting its process of bringing high speed internet connectivity to homes on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Choptank Fiber is an extension of the Choptank Electric Cooperative.
Gordon and Sherry Hollingsworth of Denton, Maryland, were the first to receive Choptank Fiber's broadband connection. "Oh it is so much faster," says Sherry Hollingsworth about the broadband connection, "it's unbelievable. You would have to wait a couple of minutes for it [their older internet connection] to change a screen and now it just zooms. So I mean, it's such a game changer for them to come to a rural area that nobody else would touch."
The reason nobody else would touch a rural county, like Caroline, according to Delegate Johnny Mautz, who represents Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot and Wicomico counties, is money.
"It's so expensive to try and run the cable and there's a lot of permitting, a lot of issues trying to do this work," Delegate Mautz says, "now there are companies that will connect people, but it's very expensive. Anyone who has tried to call someone has run into all sorts of roadblocks."
According to the Abell Foundation, 1 in 4 Marylanders lack connectivity because of availability or cost.
Sherry Hollingsworth says she and her husband have tried everything for better internet. Again, it ended up being too costly. She says, "we had to end up purchasing a T-1 line that cost a fortune and still didn't work properly. If it rained, you didn't get service."
A T-1 line is a type of fiber optic broadband connection that provides moderately fast connection.
Although the first connection is up and running, this is a 10-year project. So, many areas of the shore likely won't be connected for several years says Choptank Electric President and CEO Mike Malandro. "Some of the challenges are: We can go at a certain pace with what we have but as we're able to garner more public funding. That will essentially help us add additional resources and speed up the process."
Malandro tells WBOC the plan is to start in Caroline County. Then the cooperative will make its way to Queen Anne's County and then down to Somerset, then eventually working its way to the entire Eastern Shore.