By Shavonda E. Sumter
President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill has gifted New Jersey with a golden opportunity to bring high-speed internet access to thousands of unconnected families across our state. To achieve this goal, state agencies in Trenton need to make equitable decisions about how to spend the $100 million or more in federal broadband funding soon coming our way.
Limiting our vision to a narrow discussion regarding broadband infrastructure ultimately ignores the urgent needs of the most vulnerable and disconnected here in our state. After all, 98.8% of homes here in New Jersey already have broadband available, offering the fastest download speeds of any state in the country.
However, in my hometown of Paterson despite this ubiquitous availability of ultra-fast internet service, only 59% of households subscribe and connect. Similarly, In Newark and Camden fewer than 60% of households have signed up for home broadband service.
Our most vulnerable populations, Black, Hispanic, and low-income are significantly less likely to have a home internet connection than white and wealthier families. Which is an inequity that resulted in marginalized communities being left behind when the COVID-19 pandemic forced education, health care, and office jobs to all migrate online.
This “adoption gap” is the real root cause of New Jersey’s continuing digital divide. It is time to prioritize our scarce resources.
Thankfully, we have an opportunity and resources to tackle this issue. President Biden’s landmark Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), broadband service is now completely free for families in need. Since the White House secured commitments from broadband companies to raise speeds and lower prices for participating customers, the ACP’s $30 monthly benefit can now cover the full cost of monthly internet service for more than 1.5 million vulnerable New Jerseyans.
Advancing adoption when the internet is available and free is fundamentally a social and economic challenge. Even with available free internet service, other barriers such as digital skills deficits, lack of access to a connected device, and a lack of awareness of how to even apply for federal broadband assistance – still block far too many Black and brown families from getting online.
There will be more than $100 million in federal broadband funding coming our way over the next few years from the Infrastructure Act. This presents a great opportunity to invest in a statewide campaign to boost broadband adoption and the digital skills needed to take advantage of it in disadvantaged communities.
Funding non-profits, schools, libraries, and other community institutions to offer digital literacy classes in low-income neighborhoods is essential. Recognizing that one in three U.S. adults don’t have the basic digital skills needed to get the most out of a home internet connection, it is crucial we provide them with the necessary resources.
We need to assist families who don’t have laptops or desktops in their homes – which includes roughly 40% of all households in Paterson and Newark, and more than half in Camden. The ACP offers a $100 one-time subsidy to help buy a connected device. Unfortunately, that will not cover the full cost in many cases. We ultimately need a state-level program to help fill the gap.
Hiring and training a strike force of Digital Navigators who can work on the ground in under-connected communities to help digital newcomers scale the walls to online opportunity, is essential. Pilot programs have confirmed that this kind of one-on-one support is critical in helping digital latecomers overcome their skepticism, fear, and confusion and get online.
With the support of the Legislative Black Caucus, I am sponsoring a bill to create a Reparations Task Force in the state of NJ. In efforts to help our state confront and address the generational harms caused by centuries of systemic discrimination, creating a task force is necessary. But even as we fight to correct historical injustices, the very least we can do in the meantime is to stop perpetuating and deepening inequality through our current policymaking.
While some of our predominantly white rural communities have glaring network infrastructure needs, Gov. Phil Murphy has already committed funds to close these rural broadband gaps. Now is the time to show an equal commitment to closing the digital divide in our predominantly Black and brown urban centers.
Every community in our state deserves an equal opportunity to share in the promise and progress of the digital age. No one should be left behind without internet access.
Assemblywoman Shavonda E. Sumter (D-Passaic) represents the 35th Legislative District, which includes parts of Bergen and Passaic counties.
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