CUMBERLAND — Officials from the Maryland Broadband Cooperative and Tri-County Council for Western Maryland want to bring a high-speed Internet connection to anyone — no matter how remote the location.

Co-op Executive Director Patrick Mitchell described the work session meeting with the Allegany County commissioners Thursday as “introductory” between the county and the nonprofit organization. A tentative timeline could bring the service to the county within one to three years.

It’s a project labeled as an economic tool to attract new businesses, Mitchell said, with a “domino effect.” New businesses need employees. Those people need places to live and need to buy food and other staples. They help grow the community overall.

Funding comes from $10 million in state grants, authorized by Senate Bill 753, passed during the 2006 legislative session. Mitchell said U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski has been instrumental in obtaining another $6 million in federal funds for the venture.

At their business meeting an hour later, the commissioners agreed to pay $1,500 to join the co-op and become a government provider. For the money, the county is to receive marketing assistance on the benefits of the network and help in making the county’s industrial parks more attractive to businesses.

“We’re trying to figure how to come to Western Maryland,” said Mitchell, who also made stops in Garrett and Washington counties over the past few days.

The plan is to bring up a 144-strand fiber optic network from a hub in the Baltimore and Annapolis region. The cooperative would establish an access point in which Internet service providers could plug in to every 30 to 40 miles.

Each ISP’s fee is based on the cost to transport the data and data capacity. Mitchell said as the network has expanded in the eastern and southern parts of the state, colleges and universities have been plugged into the network. Nearly 80 percent of the fees associated with the wireless network for higher education institutions is due to transport, he said. Only 20 percent is due to capacity.

“Through us, that 80 percent will go away,” Mitchell said.

The cooperative hopes to tap into local schools and government. Commissioner Dale Lewis and County Administrator Vance Ishler asked if this would be competition for CONXX, the company currently providing high-speed service for much of the area.

Mitchell said CONXX has to buy its service from someone else — resulting in a higher fee for them and end-users. The cooperative could spur competition and possibly lower prices for everyone. He said new ISPs generally “can’t wait to get down there and start selling.”

“I could bring five more CONXXs into the area,” Mitchell said. “This would expand what CONXX could do.”

Mitchell said the cooperative’s service usually “ends up helping local providers instead of hurting them.”

“We’re not here to compete against them,” Mitchell said.

Commissioner Jim Stakem, a member of the Maryland Rural Broadband Coordination Board, said the service would make Maryland the first state in the U.S. to have laptop usage anywhere within the state’s borders.

“That’s quite an accomplishment if we can get it,” Stakem said.

For more information on the Maryland Broadband Cooperative, visit www.mdbc.us. Mitchell said Virginia is “about four years ahead” of Maryland in its cooperative effort. Information on that state’s initiative can be viewed at www.mbc-va.com.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.