Installation begins on broadband network across central Maryland

Construction crews began to install a miles-long broadband network across central Maryland last week, though the portion of the network designated for business and residential use has yet to be leased.

The installation is part of a statewide initiative that will see fiber-optic cables laid across every county by 2013 thanks to a $115 million federal stimulus grant and $43 million in state and local money. The infrastructure costs to reach those areas are typically deemed too great by private companies. Half of the network will connect schools, health centers, police stations, libraries and other “community anchors” on high-capacity Internet cables that are better equipped to transmit large gulps of data. The remaining fiber will be inactive until Internet providers, private companies or nongovernmental institutions lease portions of the network and make it available to households and businesses.