Gov. Wes Moore announces new funding to address Maryland's digital divide
BALTIMORE -- Gov. Wes Moore announced on Tuesday that millions of dollars in federal funding have been made available to help close the digital divide in Maryland.
The funding amount was made public along with an announcement about a partnership with the nonprofit organization EducationSuperHighway, according to state officials.
EducationSuperHighway works to close the digital divide in America's most unconnected communities, where more than 25% of people don't have internet.
Moore held a press conference alongside U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, EducationSuperHighway CEO Evan Marwell, Maryland Secretary of Housing and Community Development Jake Day, and Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman to announce the funding, state officials said.
"Access to the internet is no longer optional—it is essential and nobody should be locked out of the internet because of their income or where they live," Moore said. "When it comes to getting folks online, our administration is very clear: we will not rest until every single Marylander has access to affordable and reliable internet. The discounts offered under this program and the investments we are making have the power to expand opportunities for Marylanders across the state. Leaving no one behind means getting everyone online."
Last month, Moore announced that Maryland would deploy more than $267 million in federal funding to bring high-speed internet access to every state resident.
At that time, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Office of Statewide Broadband was working on developing a plan for how the funding will be deployed through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment program, according to state officials.
Ever since the office was founded in 2017, it has invested more than $300 million into broadband infrastructure and equity programs, state officials said.
That investment has provided high-speed internet access to an estimated 52,000 previously unserved homes and businesses statewide, according to Moore's office.
"You can put up all the infrastructure you want, but if people can't afford to get them and their families online, then what's the point," Moore said.
Meanwhile, in Baltimore, efforts to address the digital divide have been underway for nearly two years.
In November 2021, city leaders announced that they would be implementing the first phase of a $35 million plan to close the digital divide.
The initial plan involved spending $6 million in federal funds to bring broadband connectivity to 23 recreation centers and add 100 WiFi hotspots in West Baltimore neighborhoods.
Concerns about the digital divide were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The COVID-19 pandemic showed us that internet access is critical, basic infrastructure," Mayor Brandon Scott said during the unveiling of the plan's first phase. "From our students to our older adults, Baltimoreans struggled to learn virtually, work from home and accessed needed telemedicine on unreliable, slow connections and limited access to broadband."
Critics of the mayor's plan noted in March 2023 that he had yet to establish an office to close the digital divide, according to WJZ's media partner the Baltimore Banner.
The Baltimore Banner noted that as of early March, the $35 million pledge Scott made as a "down payment" on his 20230 target "had yet to connect a single resident to the internet."
The following month, In April 2023, Scott announced the launch of a Digital Equity Fund, which was seeded with $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding.
The Digital Equity Fund provides three types of grants to organizations. Some of the grant money goes toward assisting groups of people most likely to be left behind in the digital age, according to city officials.
