Allegany County legislators agree to provide letters of support for Verizon BEAD grant application

Allegany County’s Committee of the Whole agreed on Jan. 22 to provide a letter of support to Verizon for a BEAD broadband grant application and said it would consider similar letters for other providers that later apply.

The discussion matters because county lawmakers and local broadband advocates said gaps in service affect public safety and economic development in parts of Allegany County that lack cell service or wired internet.

Chair Carissa opened the discussion by asking Administrator Knapp and staff to update the committee on outreach with providers before any support letter is sent. A county representative told the committee that Verizon had contacted county officials over the summer and again recently to say it will apply for BEAD funding and requested a letter of support. The representative also said the county reached out to other local providers, Armstrong and Spectrum, and was told those companies were not seeking county letters at this time.

An ACTDC representative (Allegany County Telecommunications Development Corp.) told the committee that many county residents still lack broadband and that reaching them with fiber will be difficult in some locations. “We have quite a few residents in Allegany County that still has nothing,” the ACTDC representative said, and urged the county to pursue every avenue to attract investment.

Legislators described the gaps as an economic-development and public-safety issue. Legislator Rick Swales said several populated spots in his district lack cell coverage and that missing service can affect the ability to call 911. “There are many little places in district 1 where there’s no cell phone service,” Swales said, identifying one location on Route 19.

Committee members discussed technical and program details described by providers and staff. Staff said the initial BEAD application from Verizon would target “hard fiber” deployment in the first phase, and that BEAD funding typically becomes more flexible in later phases if initial applicants do not cover all gaps. Committee members also recounted the county’s prior broadband work: a county-created network that uses public-safety towers, the formation of the ACTDC LLC to market that network to last-mile providers, and a multiyear equipment replacement effort to update radio frequencies on towers (one remaining tower in Alma was identified as pending completion).

Board members asked for more-readable maps from providers; staff said the board already has the maps Verizon submitted and that staff can obtain clearer or consolidated maps on request. Several legislators suggested the county could hire a consultant to produce consolidated coverage maps to help attract additional investment.

No formal roll-call vote was recorded on the letter of support. Chair Carissa summarized the committee’s direction: staff will provide a letter of support to Verizon on behalf of the board and will provide letters to Armstrong or Spectrum if those providers later request county support. The committee did not adopt an ordinance or motion for this action during the meeting.

The discussion closed with multiple members urging the county to continue coordinating with ACTDC, last-mile providers and municipal officials to turn updated tower equipment and grant opportunities into expanded service in underserved parts of the county.

Ending: Staff said they will proceed with the letters and can bring clearer maps or further details back to the board if requested. There was no formal vote recorded on the support letters during the meeting.