Montgomery County has been named the “Best Municipal or Public Connectivity Program” by the Broadband Nation Awards.

The County was recognized as having the nation’s top broadband infrastructure program and digital equity program to help close the digital divide. The announcement was made during the Broadband Nation Expo in Washington, D.C. on October 10, 2024. The awards help to focus attention on the importance of bridging the growing digital divide and the need to bring connectivity to the unserved, Fierce Network and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) collaborated to create the awards.

“Superfast FiberNet infrastructure benefits the County and our ability to serve businesses and boost economic development. It also creates the means for the County to provide free internet to those that need it the most but don’t have the resources,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “Our commitment to closing the digital divide is a cornerstone of our work to ensure equity and that every resident, regardless of their background or income, has access to high-quality internet service. The upgrades to FiberNet and the expansion of MoCoNet create more opportunities for everyone. Congratulations to TEBS for this national recognition of their innovative work.”

The County’s Department of Technology and Enterprise Business Solutions (TEBS) operates FiberNet, Montgomery County’s broadband communication network that provides broadband services for County and public-school operations, and MoCoNet, the County’s residential broadband network that provides free 300/300 megabit per second (Mbps) internet service for residents at affordable housing locations. TEBS recently upgraded FiberNet infrastructure and capacity and is leveraging these improvements to expand the MoCoNet digital equity programs to qualified residents in select housing communities across the County.

To read more about this accomplishment, see the full release.