HUGHESVILLE
--- SMECO is ready to help local internet service
providers get more juice in their systems by letting
the Maryland Broadband Cooperative tap into the
fiber optic system that the utility has set up in
Southern Maryland.
“We are
supporting the project and will be leasing some of
our fiber capability to the network so they can use
it for their customers,” SMECO President Joe Slater
told ST. MARY’S TODAY.
“We didn’t
want to be in competition with the firms which have
entered the broadband business and we wanted to be a
good corporate citizen and add to the system,” said
Slater. “We have a robust system which is set up to
monitor all of our substations and power
transmission lines and we built extra fiber into the
system so we can participate in the broadband
delivery.”
While SMECO
won’t be in the retailing of broadband to consumers
and businesses in Southern Maryland, their efforts
will pay off in beefing up what has been at times a
limited version of the high-speed internet sought by
those who have at least one foot in the 21st.
century.
Southern Maryland Electric
Cooperative, Inc. (SMECO) and Maryland Broadband
Cooperative (MDBC) have been working together and
have finalized a fiber lease agreement to facilitate
the expansion of broadband capabilities in Southern
Maryland. The agreement provides for MDBC to lease
specific available spare fiber strands from the
SMECO fiber network at mutually agreeable
locations. SMECO will also be a class E member of
MDBC, which is reserved for business partners
contributing assets through a lease or shared
resources.
Currently, MDBC plans to develop
broadband infrastructure throughout the tri-county
area and southern rural Prince George’s county,
which includes SMECO’s service area. MDBC’s
Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer,
Patrick Mitchell, said, “This is a major step to
facilitating a fiber ring infrastructure in Southern
Maryland and SMECO has been a supporter in the
region from the beginning.” SMECO President and CEO
Austin J. Slater, Jr. stated, “We wanted to be part
of the solution because our electric customers have
made it clear that they want high speed Internet
service wherever they live in Southern Maryland.”
Tom Tudor, SMECO’s Contract
Administrator has been involved in the broadband
infrastructure issue since 1998. Restricted by
state law to providing electric service, SMECO
monitored, investigated, and conducted a pilot
project with broadband over power line (BPL)
technology but was not convinced of its performance.
SMECO has supported various efforts, such as the
Rural Maryland Broadband Task Force, Southern
Maryland Broadband Initiative, and with Tudor
serving on MDBC’s Advisory Council. Tudor’s role
will change as he serves as SMECO’s representative
to the broadband cooperative.
Wayne Clark, a member of the
Maryland Broadband Cooperative’s Board, representing
the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland,
concluded, “A ten year effort from concept to
current installation of fiber is the result of many
institutions and individuals who have freely shared
of their talents and vision. We thank SMECO’s
leadership and staff for helping to advance our
mission of making broadband available to all.”
“SMECO has been a vital partner in
the creation of the Maryland Broadband Cooperative.
The Broadband Cooperative’s efforts in Southern
Maryland and the Western Shore will be considerably
enhanced by both SMECO’s membership and its
participation in the process”, said Governor Martin
O’Malley. “Broadband access will expand opportunity
to areas of Maryland that will now have greater
access to this creative new technology. This
initiative will help improve the lives of all
Marylanders and give our rural businesses the tools
they need to compete in a global marketplace.”
“This partnership continues Team
Maryland’s commitment to connect Patuxent River
Naval Air Station to the NASA facility at Wallops on
the Eastern Shore. Bringing the information
superhighway to Southern Maryland means economic
development, job growth and innovation whether you
are a small business, a school, or a major
employer,” said Senator Barbara A. Mikulski. “Forty
years ago, interstate highways were crucial for
economic growth in our rural areas, now it’s the
information superhighway. That’s why I have worked
so hard to provide a federal investment to help
build a broadband superhighway. I will keep
fighting for the resources to keep Maryland
competitive.”
