September 11th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

Last month Governor Larry Hogan announced $10 million in grant awards to support expanded broadband access for education in Maryland. $8 miilion of that will be used to increase internet access for Maryland public school students. The grants will be used in both urban and rural areas. In urban areas, students who are underserved will be able to gain access to the Internet from an existing provider, while in the rural areas grants will be used to provide wireless access to students with cellular hotspots. In spite of those dollars, in Allegany County, with all schools opening virtually to start the year, there are many families that simply cannot access the internet. School Board President Tammy Fraley addressed the issue during the regular meeting of the Allegany County Commissioners Thursday – asking the county officials to work with the state and the private sector to secure additional resources for expanding broadband…