"It would be nice if we could all communicate on a more even basis," said Michael Barocca, interim chief information officer for Baltimore City. The city has had fiber-optic high-speed cable for a decade, he said, but it isn't connected to many city schools, or to systems in surrounding jurisdictions.
Officials in several counties said that if they had the money to install more cable, they could begin serving more areas, like rural northern Baltimore County above Cockeysville. Baltimore County leaders also see themselves as a key regional linchpin.
"We surround the city and touch all the surrounding counties. It's a natural geographic fit," said Rob Stradling, director of Information Services for Baltimore County. Fiber-optic cable in Baltimore County is just about four miles from Harford County now, he said, and may be as close to cable in Howard County, which is branching out along U.S. 40 from the county government complex in Ellicott City.
Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold said he sees those linkages to other counties and cities as vital both for security and growth.
"Communication is the 21st-century equivalent to the auto and the locomotive in earlier centuries," Leopold said. "Our national security depends on communication. That applies to people's everyday lives and helps [government] deliver services."
Broadband partners
* One Maryland Broadband Plan: Annapolis, Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Frederick County, Harford County, Howard County, Montgomery County and Prince George's County.
* The Maryland Broadband Co-op was founded by five regional economic development groups representing the 15 rural counties, plus some private members who have also joined. They are: Tri-County Council of the Lower Shore; Mid-Shore Regional Council; Upper Shore Council; Tri-County Council of Southern Maryland; Tri-County Council of Western Maryland.
