In letter she handed to Trump, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh urges Broadband investment

Newly sworn-in Baltimore (MD) Mayor Catherine Pugh took the opportunity of a handshake in the bowels of M&T Bank Stadium during President-elect Donald Trump’s appearance at the Army-Navy game to hand-deliver a letter. Mayor Pugh is looking to get President-elect Trump’s attention politically, writing that the city is the “perfect place” to provide the big-dollar infrastructure spending that Trump said he will propose once he takes office.

Referencing the Smarter Baltimore report completed during Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s term, she said the city schools system will be applying for $8 million in funding from the federal government’s E-rate program that could help install fiber Internet in public schools. “The plan will strategically use the E-rate program to both enhance the City’s educational capabilities, while also leveraging private and City funds, to lay additional fiber to spur economic development, job creation and more robust internet access,” she writes. “A cost-effective fiber network will lead to competition, lower Broadband costs and more connectivity for Baltimore residents and businesses.” She said the city also wants to apply for grants from federal departments like the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.