Shocking as it might sound, 3,600 homes in Talbot County, perhaps representing some 10,000 people, still do not have broadband access in 2021. It’s an incredible number when one remembers that our entire population is only 37,000.
As the result of its rural character and relatively odd geographic footprint, the reason for that high number becomes clear but so much for the solution for quite some time.
And the consequences for those families, particularly since the Covid pandemic hit, have been significant. Those can be seen with children unable to do school work, remote workers unable to connect to their office, farmers unable to access markets, and countless other ways that place all those homes at a severe disadvantage.
But help is finally on the way. Thanks to a US Department of Agriculture grant, Easton Utilities anticipates almost two-thirds of that 3,600 households will have that critical access over the next five years. In fact, in some cases, “Connect Talbot,” the name of the Easton Utilities undertaking, will have access much sooner than that.
The Spy sat down with Easton Utilities COO John Horner a few weeks ago to get more details on Connect Talbot.
This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about Talbot Connect please go here.
Bill Bernard says
A plan is great but 5 years will see a changed wireless world with the advent of reliable, fast, and cheaper global internet. You can currently apply to have Star Link installed this year in the county. Would it make more sense to focus on the connections between the wired backbones and wireless nodes instead of focusing on cable connections?