In parts of Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester County a new high-speed internet provider has come to town. The addition brings high-speed service to areas where options are few or nonexistent. As reported on Delmarva Now:

Bloosurf, a Salisbury-based Internet service provider, received a combination loan and grant totaling $3.2 million five years ago from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At the end of last September, it unveiled a network of eight towers beaming a high-speed LTE signal to about 100,000 households in Somerset,Wicomico and Worcester counties.

The outlay was part of a program that distributed $3.5 billion in federal stimulus money to about 300 Internet projects nationwide in 2010, primarily to expand broadband access to rural areas. But the effort, administered by the obscure Rural Utilities Service, came under fire as projects ran past schedule or failed altogether.

Despite some setbacks and delays the company was able to provide the “last-mile” for high-speed internet service to parts of the lower shore.

It took a year and then some, but Bloosurf was eventually able to secure deals for eight tower locations. The locations are in the Northwood Industrial Park in Salisbury, along Nanticoke Road west of Salisbury, Snow Hill, Bishopville, Crisfield, Winders Neck in Accomack County, Pocomoke City and Ocean Pines.

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Where there are no towers in the general vicinity — such as Eden, Pittsville and Willards — there is no coverage at all.

In some places, such as Salisbury, Bloosurf is merely one more option in a sea of high-speed Internet options. But in more-rural locales, its alternatives are few: a Verizon wireless hot spot or a satellite-based Internet service, in many cases.

For more information read the full article on Delmarva Now.