Click the membership title below for a pdf copy of the MDBC membership agreement for the class you are interested in.

• Class A Membership:
  • Founding Members of MDBC (Tri-County Council of the Lower Shore, Mid-Shore Regional Council, Upper-Shore Regional Council, Tri-County Council of Southern Maryland, Tri-County Council of Western Maryland)
• Class B Membership:
  • $500.00 one-time fee
  • Telecommunications Service Providers (ILEC, CLEC, MLEC, Telephone Cooperatives, ISP, IXC, Cable Operators, Wireless, Cellular, including private and municipal providers)
• Class C Membership:
  • $1,500.00 one-time fee
  • Governmental / Public Sector Providers (users of public use fiber and or managed services for economic development activities. Use could include marketing assistance from MDBC on benefits of the network, assistance in marketing industrial parks, attending site visits, and assistance with preparing marketing literature and web development. Members may include State, County, City, Town, Federal, & Local Agencies, and Higher Education Institutions (public and private).
• Class D Membership:
  • $3,000.00 one-time fee
  • Commercial and Industrial Users (case by case basis as determined by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion for users who need to use the MDBC network for economic development/job creation activities. Services could include collocation, server farm hosting, data center and storage, network monitoring, or dark fiber).
• Class E Membership:
  • $500.00 one-time fee
  • Joint Use / Shared Resource Providers (Entities which have agreed to share with the Corporation, or have otherwise agreed to convey, assign, lease or license to the Corporation, a portion of their respective assets, rights or privileges, on such terms and conditions which have been determined by the Board of Directors, in its sole discretion, to be of substantial current or future benefit to the Corporation, and in furtherance of the purposes of the Corporation.)

The planned services that will be offered to MDBC Members include the following:

• Managed Optical Network Services - These services are based upon a comprehensive range of optical networking technologies so that service arrangements may be flexible for each individual member. Through the MDBC network, members will be capable of providing the performance and flexibility necessary to broaden the global market for rural Maryland. These services will be offered and completed segments come on-line across our regional network. At completion the network will cover over 800 miles, and serve over 16 counties across the state.

  Sonet/TDM Services
  DS1 - Digital Service, 1.5 Mbps
  DS3 - Digital Service, 45 Mbps
  OC-3 - Optical Carrier, 155 Mbps
  OC-12 - Optical Carrier, 622 Mbps
  OC-48 - Optical Carrier, 2.5 Gbps
  OC-192 - Optical Carrier, 10 Gbps

  Ethernet/IP Services
  10 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps), in increments of 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps
  2.5G, or 10G Wavelength Services
  2.5G Ethernet or 10G Ethernet Services

  As an open-access transport company, MDBC does not resell Internet Services, only the transport components to connect our Members with Tier 1 Internet providers.

• Dark Fiber- Fiber optic strands may be provided to a Member on a monthly lease, annual lease, or IRU basis up to 20 years. The fiber must be lit and used on a regular basis by a Member who has the business demand and competency to plan and manage their own fiber network. MDBC will provide continuous 24x7 network continuity monitoring and fiber restoration services, in the event the fiber backbone is cut, damaged or needs to be relocated.


• Physical Hosting Space for Applications (Collocation) - MDBC members that require rack space will have the opportunity to utilize an MDBC node facility for locating their equipment, or locating a secure communications cabinet for back-up data storage and retrieval. MDBC will provide Collocation services at over 15 Node Sites across the state. These sites will have AC/DC power with 30KW Diesel or Propane Generator Backup, Dual HVAC units, 24x7 remote environmental and access monitoring, and unescorted 24x7 access using secure key card readers. MDBC Members will need to provide their own 19" or 23" rack or secured communications cabinet.


• Access (New Builds) - MDBC Members may require additional fiber spurs to be built from existing MDBC access points or Node buildings. Depending on Member needs and future growth potential, MDBC operations staff will work closely with the member to determine route selection, capital requirements, and possible MDBC funding to complete the build. MDBC can leverage its existing right-of-way agreements to build new cost-effective open-access fiber spurs into end-customer premises.