NEWARK– County leaders celebrated continued efforts to expand broadband access with a ribbon cutting in Newark.
The Worcester County Commissioners joined Bay Country Communications (BCC) this month in Newark to cut the ribbon on a new fiber-optic installation project that is making broadband available in Newark. Representatives from Talkie Communications and Choptank Fiber, the other two companies the county is working with to expand access to high-speed internet for residents, attended to show their support.
“Bay Country Communications is making rapid progress to install a fiber-optic network to make broadband available in Newark and are making their way down south,” Chief Administrative Officer Weston Young said. “This expansion is possible thanks in large part to the commissioners who have made extending the much needed high-speed fiber to all rural areas of the county their number one priority.”
Young said that to accomplish the nearly $68 million initiative, the commissioners provided incentives to Bay Country Communications, Choptank Fiber and Talkie Communications. While Bay Country is focusing on the Newark area, Talkie is now working in the Bishopville area and Choptank is working in the south end of the county. The incentives provided by the county included applying for state and federal pass-through grants on behalf of the companies and distributing about $7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to shovel-ready projects. The ARPA funding provided Bay Country with $1 million—with a 15% match—to install more than 31 miles of fiber in the Newark area. Bay Country has worked in the area before, as it provided service to the Worcester County Developmental Center (WCDC) in 2016 after the organization lost its internet provider.
“The WCDC project became much more time consuming and costly than we anticipated,” said Brian Roche, chief technology officer for BCC Fiber and Maryland Broadband Cooperative (MdBC) board member. “We persevered. We leveraged a portion of the MdBC’s network and fellow member Choptank Electric Cooperative’s fiber to get the WCDC connected. The entire project is an example of the way our company has done business over the past 30 years – bringing local partners together to solve the complicated problem of getting broadband to underserved communities. Since then, we have continued to invest in the area and solidified our ongoing commitment to the citizens of Newark and Worcester County.”
Currently, Bay Country is installing 32 miles of fiber to make broadband available to another 566 homes and 10 businesses south and east of Newark. Meanwhile, Talkie Communications is in the middle of extending fiber from Bishopville to Whaleyville.
Commissioner Jim Bunting, long a proponent of making broadband more widely available, said he was thrilled with the progress that was being made throughout the county.
“I’m really glad we decided to go with three different outfits,” he said, adding that it was encouraging to see access to fiber occurring in different areas of the county.
In the Bishopville area, which Bunting represents, Talkie has laid conduit in the ground and is moving toward Whaleyville. Bunting noted that while there are usually only two machines working together, Talkie has brought in four to get things moving.
“I’m elated,” he said. “I can’t get over how good they’re doing. They’re delivering.”
