OMBN will be built with $115,240,581 in grant funding awarded in September 2010 through the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). OMBN’s award, which will be matched by about $43 million in cash and in-kind contributions from the state and participating local jurisdictions, was the third-largest BTOP grant nationwide. The magnitude of the award represents not just the strength of the proposed project plan, but the perceived importance of expanding Maryland’s broadband infrastructure.

BTOP is administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). It was created and funded by the federal stimulus package known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

SECTION 1511

The One Maryland Broadband Network has been certified pursuant to Title XV, Subtitle A, Section 1511 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

ARRA Section 1511 Certification