EASTON — Easton Velocity, a service of Easton Utilities, has connected its 1,500th customer in Talbot County through the Connect Talbot rural broadband project.
“Our ongoing partnership continues to flourish, and I am proud to say that our residents and businesses are reaping the benefits from the unlimited possibilities that broadband provides,” said Talbot County Council President Chuck Callahan.
The project’s impact can be seen and felt across Talbot County with residents like Jeffrey Etherton, Medical Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, University of Maryland Shore Regional Medical Center, who received access to his home several months ago.
“Providing reliable internet access to our home has directly impacted my ability to respond more quickly and more effectively to emergency cardiovascular issues of patients while I am on call for the Medical Center,” Etherton said.
Easton Velocity has constructed 320 miles of fiber and increased its subscriber base by 15%. To date, access to broadband has been made available to more than 2,500 locations throughout Talbot County.
The total project is expected to cost approximately $40 million and will be completed before the end of 2026, Easton Utilities said in a press release. More than 4,400 locations will have access to high-speed internet when the project is complete.
Leaders at Easton Velocity and Talbot County have secured $30 million in grant funding to date from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Federal Communications Commission, State of Maryland and the Talbot County Council, along with a significant investment from Easton Utilities.
Most recently, an application submitted by Talbot County for $1.1 million was just awarded from the Office of Statewide Broadband. “We continue to look for funding opportunities to help further the work we are doing to minimize the burden for our residents,” Callahan said.
The successful execution of this project is dependent on a variety of factors because of the rural landscape and topography of Talbot County, the release from Easton Utilities said.
The sprawl makes for a more time-intensive and challenging construction process than a suburban region and requires obtaining easements, locating underground infrastructure and utilizing a mix of installation methods, including aerial lashing, which require pole access, trenching and plowing.
“We are proud of our remarkable progress and attribute it to the dedication of our team and contractors in executing this momentous project,” said Ted L. Book, vice president of Easton Velocity.
Easton Velocity offers a wide range of speeds so customers can select the best option based on their needs and budget.
“We are thrilled to now have reliable service without breaking the bank, and the tech support by Easton Velocity is stellar,” said Cindy Allen, a Cordova resident who signed up for service last year after learning there was not a customer contribution required for the construction portion of the install.
“Another great thing about having Easton Velocity is that we can connect multiple devices without any interruption or slowing down the service,” Allen said. “With other providers, we could not stream channels while another person in our household was on their laptop or in another room streaming channels.”
Easton Utilities said it understood that providing broadband access to residents and businesses with insufficient service in Talbot County would positively impact numerous quality of life issues including employment, healthcare, education and social connections, all of which help drive economic prosperity.
Providing a network to improve the quality and availability of high-speed data services to as many businesses and residents as possible became critical for virtual learning and remote working, the company said.
“The Connect Talbot project is a transformational initiative to ensure access to broadband for all the unserved residents in Talbot County,” said Hugh E. Grunden, president and CEO of Easton Utilities.
Details about the Connect Talbot project, including a real-time interactive map with construction status, can be found at EastonVelocity.com/ConnectTalbot.
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