Marylands Regional and TriCounty Councils: Implementing Rural Broadband Communication Services Senat

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Marylands Regional and Tri-County Councils
Implementing Rural Broadband Communication
Services (Senate Bill 753).
The Maryland Broadband Cooperative
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The Tri-County Council for Southern MarylandThe
Tri-County Council for Western Maryland The
Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern
ShoreThe Upper Shore Regional Council The
Mid-Shore Regional Council
OUR MISSION The mission of the Maryland
Broadband Cooperative is to drive economic
development through universal, open access to
broadband services via a fiber optic network that
serves rural Maryland.   OUR VISION To build an
advanced, world-class broadband
telecommunications network across rural Maryland
to foster our quality of life and participate in
global technologies.
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Who We Are
MdBC Board of Directors Mr. John Dillman
President Upper Shore Regional Council Mr. Scott
Warner Vice President Mid-Shore Regional
Council Mr. Michael Pennington
Secretary/Treasurer Tri-County Council for the
Lower Eastern Shore Mr. Wayne Clarke -
Member Tri-County Council of Southern
Maryland Ms. Leanne Mazer Member Tri-County
Council of Western Maryland W. Patrick
Mitchell Project Manager

• Stimulating business and education in
• a knowledge based economy

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MdBC Benefits

• The MdBC engineered fiber plan will create a
  universal,
• open access fiber optic network with the
  following benefits
• Establish public/private partnerships to promote
  economic development through the deployment of
  technology supporting infrastructures.
•   Provide our rural based small businesses and
  agricultural industry the ability to compete in
  universal markets and apply next-generation
  technology to their operations.
•   Extend our children's educational
  opportunities from the modern classroom into
  their homes to build future-proofed assets for
  rural regions of Maryland.

• Stimulating business and education in
• a knowledge based economy

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The Benefits of Broadband

• Meet the increasing need for health care
  opportunities of our aging population through
  telemedicine bring specialized services to less
  populated areas with the ability to transfer
  files, x-rays, CAT scans and, employ new medical
  technologies including telesurgery and continuous
  monitoring of health
•  Encourage new research and development
  opportunities and initiatives through
  partnerships with government research facilities,
  private institutions, universities, and community
  colleges
• Support the development of local workforce
  skills for the new global network economy

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U.S. falling behind world.Rural falling behind
US.

• United States has fallen from 4th to 20th in the
  world in broadband penetration over the last 5
  years.
• 2001 4th
• 2003 13th
• 2004 16th
• 2006 20th
• Approximately 70 of our rural land area
  un-served by DSL or cable. Still on dial-up
  service.

Stimulating business and education in a
knowledge based economy
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Why A Cooperative?
Cooperatives brought electric to our rural
communities and now Cooperatives need to bring
Broadband to our rural areas Extensive
infrastructure versus limited customers provide
lower profit margins than urban
environments. Cooperatives are built by users of
the service, for users of the service Cooperative
s profits are returned to customers through lower
prices. Cooperatives are sustainable SMECO,
Choptank.
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Our Goals

• Create early opportunities to provide service.
• Build fiber infrastructure in areas where fiber
  does not currently exist.
• Capitalize on existing fiber resources through
  resource sharing and lease agreement.
• Enable private sector ISPs and WISPs to bring
  last mile connectivity to business and residents.
  
• Build Network Operation Centers with incubator
  space to increase economic development
  opportunities.

• Stimulating business and education in
• a knowledge based economy

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FY 07- Year 1
New Fiber
Resource Share

• Southern Maryland Cooperative Members
• SMECO
• MetroCast
• Southern Maryland Internet

Discussions in progress with the College of
Southern Maryland, Network Maryland, RadixNet and
KE Assoc.
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Work in progress
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FY 08 Year 2
Y1 New Fiber
Resource Share
Y2 New/Share Fiber
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FY 09 Year 3
Y1 New Fiber
Resource Share
Y2 New/Share Fiber
Y3 New/Share Fiber
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FY 09 - Year 3
Y2 New/Share Fiber
Y3 New/Share Fiber
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Southern Maryland Advisory Council
Contact Lead Ms. Ellen Flowers-Fields Tri-County
Council for Southern Maryland EFlowers-Fields_at_tccs
md.org 301-274-1922 Mr. Tom Tudor Southern
Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc.
(SMECO) tom.tudor_at_smeco.coop Mr. David
Howard College of Southern Maryland
(CSM) daveh_at_csmd.edu Mr. Pat Mitchell Maryland
Broadband Cooperative pmitchell_at_mdbc.us
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The Tri-County Council for Southern MarylandThe
Tri-County Council for Western Maryland The
Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern
ShoreThe Upper Shore Regional CouncilThe
Mid-Shore Regional Council

• Bringing Broadband to Rural Maryland through
• The Maryland Broadband Cooperative (MdBC)