County Starts Work on $72 Million Broadband Project

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman announced the beginning of construction Thursday for a $72 million section of the Inter-County Broadband Network, which will give broadband access to more than 700 schools, libraries and public buildings in central Maryland.

The federal stimulus-funded project will lay nearly 1,300 miles of new fiber to supplement more than 2,400 miles of fiber that already exists in the area.

For the next two years, most of the construction around Howard County will take place in public right-of-way areas.

“Hopefully, the inconvenience will be minimal,” said Ulman in a press release. “When this project is done, Maryland can lay claim to being the most connected state in the nation, and Howard County will be at the center of it all.”

Of the $115 million awarded for the project, Howard County was designated to manage $72 million of it. Ulman credited Senator Barbara Mikulksi with helping to get the money to central Maryland.

“Broadband is going to bring the jobs of tomorrow to our state,” said Mikulski.

Construction started on Cradlerock Way and strings to Snowden River Parkway.

The project is due for completion by 2013, according to the county.