Baltimore nonprofit gets $2M to bridge the digital divide — with a unique opportunity 

Despite its struggles to provide high-speed broadband to all its neighborhoods, Maryland’s largest city has a few tools at its disposal to better connect the whole city. 

Now, Baltimore has an extra $2 million to use these assets to their greatest extent. 

On Friday, the city’s Office of Information and Technology (BCIT) awarded the nonprofit Waves $2 million through the Connect Baltimore Broadband Grant Program.

Formerly known as Project Waves, the nonprofit will use the grant to deploy a fiber-optic network to 12 low-income residential apartment buildings, according to the Mayor’s Office, as well as improve existing services in nine other residential properties. The award builds on Waves’ ongoing work, currently housed under the Digital Harbor Foundation, to get internet service to Baltimore residents who otherwise could not afford it. 

“Thanks to [this funding], we can connect thousands of households and empower them with the tools they need to thrive in today’s digital world,” said Waves Executive Director Chrissie Powell. 

Several weeks before the announcement, as part of the four-day Baltimore Together Summit, Waves and BCIT leaders participated in a panel shedding light on the current and future state of broadband access the grant seeks to address. 

The discussion at the A. Hoen and Co. building, titled “Building a Connected Baltimore: Public-Private Partnerships for Broadband Access,” brought together leaders from different organizations across the digital advocacy scene to explore Baltimore’s strategy for bridging the digital divide. 

Moderated by Sam Musgrave, the Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition’s interim director, the panel featured BCIT’s Kenya Asli, who doubles as the city’s director of broadband and digital equity; Brooke Shird, a Waves project manager; Donna Rattley Washington, an independent consultant with federal and regional broadband policy experience; and Gretchen LeGrand of the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation. 

Baltimore’s unique broadband vision

The city’s digital divide creates significant barriers, particularly for low-income residents. The local Abell Foundation reported in 2018 that over 96,000 households (more than 40% of the city) lacked wireline internet service, while 75,000 did not have access to a desktop or laptop computer. This divide further deepens inequities in wealth, education, employment and healthcare access throughout a person’s life. And of course, these issues were only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unlike most cities, Baltimore owns its underground conduit system, which means the city can decide where and how to expand its network to support public services and initiatives. This also means it can lower barriers for new internet service providers (ISPs) to enter the market. 

Asli compared Baltimore’s “middle-mile” network to a highway. 

“Now that we have the highway built, we want to put cars on the highway,” Asli said. 

The benefits — and responsibility — of local infrastructure 

Asli also noted that the city uses this infrastructure to attract ISPs to provide affordable, high-quality service to underserved neighborhoods.

“Our infrastructure allows new ISPs — small, middle, large — to piggyback on our infrastructure, saving millions of dollars in development,” she said.

LeGrand emphasized the unique opportunity this city ownership of conduit and fiber systems provides. She also highlighted the potential to integrate broadband access into new residential and commercial projects. 

“There’s no reason why developers can’t act as their own ISPs by leveraging this infrastructure,” she said, adding: “High-speed internet for $20 per month is not just about access. It’s about creating communities where residents and businesses thrive in a digitally connected ecosystem.”

How to build trust with communities

Transparency and trust emerged as central themes throughout the conversation. Asli highlighted the importance of engaging residents directly, as well as how the city prioritizes public WiFi access at recreation and senior centers — a process that can help local government get feedback from communities and ensure promises are kept.

Waves’ Shird also discussed her organization’s commitment to “on-the-ground” engagement. The organization, which provides free internet to eligible households, avoids such predatory practices as requiring credit card information. It additionally focuses on direct connections with residents to ensure both access and trust.

“Trust is contagious and spreads throughout a community,” she said. 

The challenges, and solutions, to better access

Washington stressed the importance of lowering the cost of entry for ISPs in densely packed neighborhoods. All the panelists agreed that more competition leads to lower prices, better service and greater innovation.

Asli noted the need for a comprehensive audit of the city’s conduit system. Although that so-called “digital highway” exists, we need to understand the condition, capacity, compliance and integration potential to assess how much can actually operate on that road. An audit could streamline permitting and make accessing the network easier for ISPs, too. 

“Without an audit, it’s harder to make Baltimore attractive for a range of broadband providers,” she said.

On the funding side, LeGrand discussed the public-private Reinvest Baltimore initiative, which seeks to eliminate vacant properties, while integrating broadband infrastructure. 

As project planners and communities scope out their proposals to rebuild their neighborhoods, fiber can be requested as part of the development plan, allowing for physical and economic connections that foster growth, she said. Communities themselves can insist on digital equity and high-speed internet as a priority. 

A path forward

The panel issued a call to action for Baltimore’s entrepreneurial and tech communities. Expanding broadband isn’t just about utility access: It’s a foundation for innovation and economic opportunity. Baltimore’s city-owned conduit system represents more than physical connections, but also the city’s ability to leverage shared assets for all.