Worcester County economic future hinges on broadband infrastructure

The following is a commentary by Worcester County Commissioner Chip Bertino:

Limitations in Worcester County’s broadband infrastructure were readily evident as individuals, educators, students, health care providers, businesses and remote workers confronted and struggled with the realities of pandemic work-at-home orders, remote learning, virtual meetings and medical consultations and just staying in touch with family and friends.   

Our experiences during the past year have compressed and sharply brought into focus what we have learned about the importance of having in place broadband accessibility for all Worcester County residents and the consequences of not having it.   

There are great swaths of our county, particularly the rural areas, where broadband accessibility hardly exists or is not available at all.  Our residents, whether they live in Bishopville or outside Pocomoke, whether they live on a farm in Stockton or along the Pocomoke River, must have access to the internet like those living in the more concentrated population areas of our county.

Broadband connectivity is not a luxury nor should it be viewed as such.  There are multiple internet carriers doing business within our county.  But their economic viability models focus on population density.  They are businesses focused on maximizing their bottom lines.  The reality is that much of our county is not densely populated and as such these areas are less attractive to providers who cannot justify the return on infrastructure investment.

We are in the third decade of the 21st century.  Access to broadband is a necessity and must be made available to every home and business within our county.  For this reason, this is a narrowly defined circumstance when government has a responsibility to bridge the chasm created when business is unable to fulfill the needs of our residents, homeowners and business owners.

No different than our road system, water and sewer systems and the electrical grid, broadband is an infrastructure capital asset that must be in place to meet the needs of Worcester County residents now and in the future. 

Universal access to broadband will ignite and sustain economic development and opportunity within our county not just today but for many tomorrows to come.  When all homes and businesses have access to reliable internet, Worcester County will be attractive to the individuals and businesses who will continue to work remotely, even after COVID subsides.   By all accounts, the pandemic has spurred a lasting demographic shift away from metropolitan areas in favor of more desirable locales.  Remote work decouples the link between where a person works and where a person lives.  Remote working allows individuals and families to choose where they want to live based on their needs and desires.   Why shouldn’t Worcester be a beneficiary of this reality.

Broadband accessibility will energize our communities and local businesses that for generations has been sustained by agriculture and tourism.  Investment in countywide broadband infrastructure will improve the quality of life of our residents as well as the learning experience our of students.  It will lure workers whose jobs allow them to work remotely.  Worcester County will benefit greatly when we, as a county, invest in needed broadband infrastructure.  Also, the positive financial impact on business will have no bounds. 

The many natural assets that make Worcester County a desirable place to live, work and play are complemented by an exceptional school system, a proliferating health care system and a populace imbued with an indominable entrepreneurial, we-can-do-anything-we-set-our-minds-to spirit.

Building the necessary broadband infrastructure so that every home and business in Worcester County can have access is a challenge worthy of our pursuits as a community and a county government.