Montgomery County Maryland has been awarded the “Best Municipal or Public Connectivity Program,” honored as a 2024 Broadband Nation Award winner for its ongoing efforts to expand affordable broadband access and help bridge the digital divide.

Montgomery County has worked extensively for years to connect municipal services and key anchor institutions, but more recently has begun leveraging that infrastructure to expand access to the most vulnerable. The county’s efforts have two key components:

FiberNet is a 650-mile municipal fiber communication network that provides broadband services to 558 County, State, municipal, educational, and anchor institutions.

MoCoNet is the County’s residential broadband network that provides free 300/300 megabit per second (Mbps) Internet service for residents at affordable housing locations. Originally providing a symmetrical 100 Mbps service, the network was recently upgraded to 300 Mbps, and is currently available to low-income housing communities.

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Montgomery Connects Program Director Mitsuko Herrera tells ILSR that the county just received a $10 million grant from the State of Maryland to expand FiberNet and MoCoNet’s free 300 Mbps offering to 1,547 low-income and affordable housing units at seven properties operated by the County’s Housing Opportunities Commission.

The county’s also in the middle of upgrading its core fiber infrastructure to deliver significantly faster overall speeds.  

Montgomery County Maryland has been awarded the “Best Municipal or Public Connectivity Program,” honored as a 2024 Broadband Nation Award winner for its ongoing efforts to expand affordable broadband access and help bridge the digital divide.

Montgomery County has worked extensively for years to connect municipal services and key anchor institutions, but more recently has begun leveraging that infrastructure to expand access to the most vulnerable. The county’s efforts have two key components:

FiberNet is a 650-mile municipal fiber communication network that provides broadband services to 558 County, State, municipal, educational, and anchor institutions.

MoCoNet is the County’s residential broadband network that provides free 300/300 megabit per second (Mbps) Internet service for residents at affordable housing locations. Originally providing a symmetrical 100 Mbps service, the network was recently upgraded to 300 Mbps, and is currently available to low-income housing communities.

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Montgomery Connects Program Director Mitsuko Herrera tells ILSR that the county just received a $10 million grant from the State of Maryland to expand FiberNet and MoCoNet’s free 300 Mbps offering to 1,547 low-income and affordable housing units at seven properties operated by the County’s Housing Opportunities Commission.

The county’s also in the middle of upgrading its core fiber infrastructure to deliver significantly faster overall speeds.  

Montgomery County Maryland has been awarded the “Best Municipal or Public Connectivity Program,” honored as a 2024 Broadband Nation Award winner for its ongoing efforts to expand affordable broadband access and help bridge the digital divide.

Montgomery County has worked extensively for years to connect municipal services and key anchor institutions, but more recently has begun leveraging that infrastructure to expand access to the most vulnerable. The county’s efforts have two key components:

FiberNet is a 650-mile municipal fiber communication network that provides broadband services to 558 County, State, municipal, educational, and anchor institutions.

MoCoNet is the County’s residential broadband network that provides free 300/300 megabit per second (Mbps) Internet service for residents at affordable housing locations. Originally providing a symmetrical 100 Mbps service, the network was recently upgraded to 300 Mbps, and is currently available to low-income housing communities.

Image

Montgomery Connects Program Director Mitsuko Herrera tells ILSR that the county just received a $10 million grant from the State of Maryland to expand FiberNet and MoCoNet’s free 300 Mbps offering to 1,547 low-income and affordable housing units at seven properties operated by the County’s Housing Opportunities Commission.

The county’s also in the middle of upgrading its core fiber infrastructure to deliver significantly faster overall speeds.  

Timnath, Colorado officials have broken ground on a new $20 million fiber network that should dramatically expand affordable fiber access to the town of 7,100 residents.

Working in partnership with the city of Loveland’s Pulse Fiber, the project has been several years in the making, and – as with most of the successful municipal operations in Colorado – was fueled by ongoing public frustration with the speed, availability, and cost of monopoly-dominated regional broadband access.

“This project is about more than just Internet access,” Timnath Town Manager Aaron Adams said in a statement.

“It’s an investment in our future, ensuring that we have the infrastructure in place to support economic growth, attract new residents and businesses, and improve quality of life for everyone in Timnath.”

Last year the two cities signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) greenlighting the plan to bring ubiquitous, affordable high-speed Internet access to Timnath. Under the arrangement, Tinmath is slated to receive 25 percent of the network’s gross income. That should equate to a 2 to 6 percent return on capital investment over 20 to 30 years, with the network fully paid off in 26 years.

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Timnath’s project was heavily funded by the town’s capital improvement funds, which were in turn bolstered by broadband grants received via the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Timnath, Colorado officials have broken ground on a new $20 million fiber network that should dramatically expand affordable fiber access to the town of 7,100 residents.

Working in partnership with the city of Loveland’s Pulse Fiber, the project has been several years in the making, and – as with most of the successful municipal operations in Colorado – was fueled by ongoing public frustration with the speed, availability, and cost of monopoly-dominated regional broadband access.

“This project is about more than just Internet access,” Timnath Town Manager Aaron Adams said in a statement.

“It’s an investment in our future, ensuring that we have the infrastructure in place to support economic growth, attract new residents and businesses, and improve quality of life for everyone in Timnath.”

Last year the two cities signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) greenlighting the plan to bring ubiquitous, affordable high-speed Internet access to Timnath. Under the arrangement, Tinmath is slated to receive 25 percent of the network’s gross income. That should equate to a 2 to 6 percent return on capital investment over 20 to 30 years, with the network fully paid off in 26 years.

Image

Timnath’s project was heavily funded by the town’s capital improvement funds, which were in turn bolstered by broadband grants received via the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Timnath, Colorado officials have broken ground on a new $20 million fiber network that should dramatically expand affordable fiber access to the town of 7,100 residents.

Working in partnership with the city of Loveland’s Pulse Fiber, the project has been several years in the making, and – as with most of the successful municipal operations in Colorado – was fueled by ongoing public frustration with the speed, availability, and cost of monopoly-dominated regional broadband access.

“This project is about more than just Internet access,” Timnath Town Manager Aaron Adams said in a statement.

“It’s an investment in our future, ensuring that we have the infrastructure in place to support economic growth, attract new residents and businesses, and improve quality of life for everyone in Timnath.”

Last year the two cities signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) greenlighting the plan to bring ubiquitous, affordable high-speed Internet access to Timnath. Under the arrangement, Tinmath is slated to receive 25 percent of the network’s gross income. That should equate to a 2 to 6 percent return on capital investment over 20 to 30 years, with the network fully paid off in 26 years.

Image

Timnath’s project was heavily funded by the town’s capital improvement funds, which were in turn bolstered by broadband grants received via the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Timnath, Colorado officials have broken ground on a new $20 million fiber network that should dramatically expand affordable fiber access to the town of 7,100 residents.

Working in partnership with the city of Loveland’s Pulse Fiber, the project has been several years in the making, and – as with most of the successful municipal operations in Colorado – was fueled by ongoing public frustration with the speed, availability, and cost of monopoly-dominated regional broadband access.

“This project is about more than just Internet access,” Timnath Town Manager Aaron Adams said in a statement.

“It’s an investment in our future, ensuring that we have the infrastructure in place to support economic growth, attract new residents and businesses, and improve quality of life for everyone in Timnath.”

Last year the two cities signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) greenlighting the plan to bring ubiquitous, affordable high-speed Internet access to Timnath. Under the arrangement, Tinmath is slated to receive 25 percent of the network’s gross income. That should equate to a 2 to 6 percent return on capital investment over 20 to 30 years, with the network fully paid off in 26 years.

Image

Timnath’s project was heavily funded by the town’s capital improvement funds, which were in turn bolstered by broadband grants received via the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Timnath, Colorado officials have broken ground on a new $20 million fiber network that should dramatically expand affordable fiber access to the town of 7,100 residents.

Working in partnership with the city of Loveland’s Pulse Fiber, the project has been several years in the making, and – as with most of the successful municipal operations in Colorado – was fueled by ongoing public frustration with the speed, availability, and cost of monopoly-dominated regional broadband access.

“This project is about more than just Internet access,” Timnath Town Manager Aaron Adams said in a statement.

“It’s an investment in our future, ensuring that we have the infrastructure in place to support economic growth, attract new residents and businesses, and improve quality of life for everyone in Timnath.”

Last year the two cities signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) greenlighting the plan to bring ubiquitous, affordable high-speed Internet access to Timnath. Under the arrangement, Tinmath is slated to receive 25 percent of the network’s gross income. That should equate to a 2 to 6 percent return on capital investment over 20 to 30 years, with the network fully paid off in 26 years.

Image

Timnath’s project was heavily funded by the town’s capital improvement funds, which were in turn bolstered by broadband grants received via the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Timnath, Colorado officials have broken ground on a new $20 million fiber network that should dramatically expand affordable fiber access to the town of 7,100 residents.

Working in partnership with the city of Loveland’s Pulse Fiber, the project has been several years in the making, and – as with most of the successful municipal operations in Colorado – was fueled by ongoing public frustration with the speed, availability, and cost of monopoly-dominated regional broadband access.

“This project is about more than just Internet access,” Timnath Town Manager Aaron Adams said in a statement.

“It’s an investment in our future, ensuring that we have the infrastructure in place to support economic growth, attract new residents and businesses, and improve quality of life for everyone in Timnath.”

Last year the two cities signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) greenlighting the plan to bring ubiquitous, affordable high-speed Internet access to Timnath. Under the arrangement, Tinmath is slated to receive 25 percent of the network’s gross income. That should equate to a 2 to 6 percent return on capital investment over 20 to 30 years, with the network fully paid off in 26 years.

Image

Timnath’s project was heavily funded by the town’s capital improvement funds, which were in turn bolstered by broadband grants received via the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Timnath, Colorado officials have broken ground on a new $20 million fiber network that should dramatically expand affordable fiber access to the town of 7,100 residents.

Working in partnership with the city of Loveland’s Pulse Fiber, the project has been several years in the making, and – as with most of the successful municipal operations in Colorado – was fueled by ongoing public frustration with the speed, availability, and cost of monopoly-dominated regional broadband access.

“This project is about more than just Internet access,” Timnath Town Manager Aaron Adams said in a statement.

“It’s an investment in our future, ensuring that we have the infrastructure in place to support economic growth, attract new residents and businesses, and improve quality of life for everyone in Timnath.”

Last year the two cities signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) greenlighting the plan to bring ubiquitous, affordable high-speed Internet access to Timnath. Under the arrangement, Tinmath is slated to receive 25 percent of the network’s gross income. That should equate to a 2 to 6 percent return on capital investment over 20 to 30 years, with the network fully paid off in 26 years.

Image

Timnath’s project was heavily funded by the town’s capital improvement funds, which were in turn bolstered by broadband grants received via the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).