Breezeline pairs with local government on rural Maryland broadband extension
U.S. Cable MSO Breezeline says it has partnered with state and county officials to improve broadband services in the Maryland counties of Cecil, St. Mary’s, and Queen Anne’s. The state’s Office of Statewide Broadband will supply most of the funding for the project
Breezeline expects to serve 524 homes and businesses in the three counties under the project. Work will begin after grant agreements are executed with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. The cable MSO expects to have infrastructure deployment completed in late 2023 in Cecil and St. Mary’s counties and the following summer in Queen Anne’s.
The project is expected to cost $4.3 million. The state has committed to contribute $3.68 million, with Breezeline kicking in $347,000 and the three counties adding a total of $309,000. The grant applications were submitted through the Maryland Network Infrastructure Grant Program and the state’s Neighborhood Connect Broadband Funding Program.
Separately, Breezeline also partnered with the St. Mary's County Board of Education to receive a grant of $339,000 grant from the Maryland Emergency Education Relief (MEER) grant program to help connect another 23 student households in Maryland.
“We are pleased to partner with Breezeline and the State of Maryland to address the connectivity needs of rural communities,” said St. Mary’s County Commissioner President Randy Guy. “St. Mary’s County has undertaken a strategic approach to improving the county broadband infrastructure by leveraging available grants to bring broadband to otherwise hard-to-reach areas of our communities.”
“We are excited to partner with local county officials and the state to extend our broadband reach even further into these communities,” said William T. Newborg, director of grants and funding for Breezeline. “We look forward to bringing the performance and reliability of high-speed broadband to these rural Maryland communities to support work-from-home, telemedicine, education, and other vital needs.”
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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