Digital equity program in Montgomery County, Maryland adds Plume Wi-Fi to its Internet access

Montgomery County (MD) offers its low-income and special needs citizens Internet access via a 600-linear-mile fiber route as part of its Digital Equity program. In a new pilot project, the county will add onsite Wi-Fi—by way of Plume superpods—to its existing basic Internet access. Joe Webster, Montgomery County's Chief Broadband Officer, said that although the county has been providing free or low-cost Internet service to residents in need for some time, significant challenges remain beyond the demarc. If you're unfamiliar with the term, "demarc" is ISP shorthand for "point of demarcation"—the point beyond which your IT problems are your own, not the service provider's. A working partnership with a Wi-Fi mesh vendor like Plume—particularly one that, like Plume, can take the bulk of end-user support off the county's metaphorical shoulders—could make it possible to extend Internet access not only to the residences, but directly to the devices of the county residents in need.