A regional web of fiber-optic cable would spread from Maryland's Eastern Shore to its western mountains under a plan by local governments to tap federal stimulus money for communications expansions.
If the effort is successful, it could mean $100 million or more flowing into Maryland, out of a $7.2 billion chunk of federal money set aside for fiber-optic projects.
Working separately, two groups of local governments are working to snare their share of funds, which officials said could create networks that would be cheaper than buying the service from private companies.
The web would also provide an economic boost by allowing more home-based business and other efforts in rural areas, they said.
One team, the One Maryland Broadband Plan, has been working at this for over a year. It includes Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Montgomery counties, plus Baltimore City and Annapolis
Another group of rural counties covering the Eastern Shore, Southern and Western Maryland is also preparing to apply for money through the Salisbury-based Maryland Broadband Co-operative, a private nonprofit created three years ago by the Maryland General Assembly and funded by state and federal funds.
"I personally feel we're one of the few states in the country shovel-ready," said Patrick Mitchell, the co-op's president and CEO, who said he hopes for 250 miles of cable in rural areas where companies like Verizon are loath to go.
Broadband access enables the swift transmission of huge gobs of information and pictures. That means fast, secure communications for police and firefighters in an emergency, for medical information, for myriad business uses, and for personal use, like students working on assignments.
Despite a 20 percent local match requirement for some of the money, boosters said a government-created network would cost far less than buying services from commercial providers.
"It's a very ambitious initiative," said Ira Levy, Howard County's director of information systems and a leader in the central Maryland effort. "Our strategy is to show that we're ready to jump right in."
But Christopher B. Summers, president of the nonpartisan conservative-leaning Maryland Public Policy Institute in Rockville, denounced the broadband idea as part of a stimulus boondoggle that amounts to "a debt plan for future households."
