Brief History of Broad Band Development in Carroll County

  • 2007 Carroll County began construction of a 112-mile, 216-count fiber backbone consisting of four (4) rings, reaching into all parts of the county which would build, operate, and maintain over 110 miles of fiber optic lines throughout the county. More than 130 local and state agencies are connected to the network including all county offices, Board of Education buildings and schools, Carroll Community College, the Carroll County Public Library system, emergency response facilities, courthouses and town offices.
  • Funds: $7,500,000. The two main purposes:
    • Connect 130+ County, Local, and State operations including government, schools, libraries, community colleges, and public safety.
    • Have excess fiber available to allow businesses and industries to lease.
  • 2011 – Received $6,000,000 in federal funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant and a $2,000,000 county match. This was used to complete the build of the fiber backbone originally planned in 2007, with the addition of 11 sites.
  • Carroll Broadband's “middle-mile” fiber optic network expands internet service options in Carroll County’s cities, towns, and industrial areas. It provides cost-effective, high-bandwidth capacity to enable private carriers to bridge the last mile through their own investments to serve Carroll’s underserved businesses and residents.

More Recent Activity

  • 2015-Current – Carroll County is leasing fiber to local businesses and service providers and receives about $250,000 annually in leases.
  • 2018 – Commissioners implement the Carroll Broadband Grant Program for businesses. Essential Points:
    • Up to 50% matching reimbursement of qualified project expenses with a cap of $25,000 per approved project.
    • A cap of $100,000 per entity or service provider is fixed per fiscal year and is dependent on allocations approved by the Carroll County Board of Commissioners.
    • Criteria include the construction, acquisition, or leasing of facilities or wireless spectrum, land, towers, or buildings used to deploy broadband service for business and residentially based businesses located within Carroll County, MD.
  • 2018 – Commissioners allocate $415,000 to build fiber in four business parks: Warfield Complex, Liberty Exchange, Eldersburg Business Center, and Twin Arch Industrial Park.
  • 2020 – Commissioners approve moving forward with Columbia Telecommunications to initiate a Broadband Feasibility study.
  • 2020 – Commissioners approve partnering with Comcast to apply for state grants to build fiber along Garret and Halter roads. They also partnered with Quantum Internet Service to apply for state grants to build fiber in the rural area between Manchester and Westminster that is bordered by Sullivan and Fridinger Mill Roads.
  • 2021 - FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) – A service provider by the name of Talkie provisionally won a bid to build fiber in various parts of the county; However, these areas may be covered by other grants before Talkie can build here. 
  •  2021 – The American Rescue Plan Act (ARAP) allocates approximately 32 million dollars to Carroll County Government. This money is being used to fund Broadband projects and other county needs.
  • 2022 - Carroll County to receive $393,123 in grant awards from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. The grants will be administered by the Governor’s Office of Rural Broadband and used to expand rural broadband access to 89 additional residences in Carroll County on Garret Road and Halter Road.
  • 2022 - Quantum Telecommunications, Inc. is approved for a Connect Maryland: Network Infrastructure Grant worth $10M. The grant, administered by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, supports the Office of Statewide Broadband (OSB) in its efforts to assist in the expansion of broadband into unserved areas of Maryland. The funding source for this budgeted expense is the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), administered by the US Treasury. Funded Projects must comply with the ARPA requirements.
  • 2022 -Quantum has been awarded Five Neighborhood Grants from the State of Maryland worth almost $2M for Brodbeck Road Project - $369,920 grant amount; Gablehammer Road Project - $309,722 grant amount; Gorsuch Road Project - $218,108 grant amount; Hoffman Mill Road Project - $436,230 grant amount; Shiloh Road Project - $486,382 grant amount
  • 2023 – Quantum was awarded $22 million from the State’s Network Infrastructure Grant.


    For more information contact:

    Jay Uebel – Broadband Project Manager
    Technology Services
    O: 410-386-2309 M: 443-862-8771
    Email: juebel@carrollcountymd.gov

Businesses:

For information about business broadband opportunities, please visit the Carroll County Department of Economic Development site at: https://carrollbiz.org/carroll-broadband-network/

To learn more about dark fiber leasing opportunities, please contact Jay Uebel juebel@carrollcountymd.gov or 410-386-2309.