MdBC History

Today, Maryland Broadband Cooperative boasts 79 members, including internet service providers, government entities, healthcare providers, emergency management services, higher education institutions, electric cooperatives, and other strategic partners. Maryland Broadband Cooperative's fiber network now spans approximately 2,500 miles, with 33 points of presence (POP) across Maryland and Virginia, including Equinix in Ashburn, University of Maryland-College Park, 111 Market Street in Baltimore, and NASA’s Wallops Island Space Flight Facility. This extensive network helps our members connect millions of people, ensuring that even the most rural areas of Maryland have access to world-class internet services.

To meet the growing demands of the digital age, Maryland Broadband Cooperative selected Maryland based Ciena, the worldwide leader in optical transport equipment, as its technology partner to upgrade our core backbone and cell service networks across the region. This upgrade initially increased the network’s capacity from 300 Gigabit to 1.2 Terabits per second with the ability to scale to meet all future customer needs. This strategic partnership positions MdBC as the leader in high-speed connectivity solutions that our members, stakeholders, and institutions need, now and into the future.

The nine counties of the Eastern Shore desired to have a cutting edge and integrated E-911 system to serve the entire region.  Many of the major national providers in this space responded to the RFP, and due to MdBC’s ubiquitous fiber reach in all nine counties sought the partnership of MdBC to augment their proposal design and the reliability of the service offered.  The counties selected one of MdBC’s national members to provide the E-911 service in collaboration with MdBC and another cooperative member. This initiative was a critical step in enhancing public safety communications and ensuring reliable emergency services throughout our rural region and another example of the wisdom of having invested in the development of the MdBC fiber-optic network to act as a resource to meet the changing and expanding needs of our communities, members, and institutions.

Maryland Broadband Cooperative completed deployment of a unique fiber infrastructure asset by installing submarine cables under the Chesapeake Bay. This strategic initiative extended the network’s reach, established direct connectivity between Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore, and improved resiliency, redundancy and network diversity for communities, ISPs and institutions all across the region.

Maryland Broadband Cooperative began providing cell tower backhaul in 2012, but rapidly expanded its service offerings in 2015. By providing connectivity solutions to cellular towers throughout Maryland we not only broadened Maryland Broadband Cooperative's service capabilities but also strengthened the overall telecommunications infrastructure within the state.

Maryland Broadband deployed a dedicated dark-fiber network for the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) that connected their flagship University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore and their Technical Operations Center (TOC) in Columbia with key Shore Health facilities on the Eastern Shore.  This partnership materially improved quality of life and access to world-class heath care for each of the communities it reached.

Our efforts gained further momentum when the United States Department of Defense (DOD) engaged Maryland Broadband in a cooperative agreement to deploy a new fiber-optic cable to connect two critical United States Navy facilities at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Southern Maryland and NASA’s Wallops Island Space Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. provided additional funding to expand the regional broadband infrastructure. This strategic initiative would underscore not only Maryland Broadband Cooperative's role in expanding regional broadband access, but also as an important partner supporting national security and defense communications.

In response to the critical need for affordable and reliable internet access across Maryland, the Five Regional Councils of Maryland—comprising the Upper Shore Regional Council, Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, Tri-County Council for Western Maryland, Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, and Mid-Shore Regional Council—founded the Maryland Broadband Cooperative (MdBC) on May 15, 2006. Established as a 501(c)(12) member-owned cooperative, Maryland Broadband Cooperative was tasked with the mission of bridging the digital divide.  We were charged with solving the “Middle-Mile Problem” by building a world-class fiber-optic network that would facilitate the efforts of ISPs, institutions, and entrepreneurs bring even the most remote communities in Maryland the access to the high-speed internet for education, business, and everyday life.

With significant backing from State funding agencies, MdBC began deploying its first fiber-optic cables on the Lower Eastern Shore to establish a connection between NASA’s Wallops Island Space Flight Facility to Baltimore via the Bay Bridge.  Also in 2006, the Maryland Legislature enacted SB 68 granting MdBC access to all Maryland State Rights of Way.  This visionary legislation greatly facilitated construction and development efforts and laid the groundwork for what would become a robust statewide network.