At a press conference held yesterday in Newark, a new program was announced via partnership between the City of Newark, Jersey On, P3 Global Management, and President Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative that will bring hi-speed internet service to Newark residents for as low at $10/month.
The program also prioritizes 500 Newark public school students in low-income households to receive internet service for free. Studies show that more than 20% of all Americans – including half of minorities – are unconnected to the internet at home. In New Jersey, the number of unconnected households is at about 500,000.
“We know that in order for Newark residents of all ages to succeed in life, they need access to information technology,” said Mayor Baraka. “While the school district is able to provide internet access for students during the day, we need to make sure they are connected at home and do not suffer from a ‘homework gap.'”
The program will also extend to Newark residents without a student in the household. Mobile Hot Spot units will be available for free, offering 500MB of data usage per month. At-home modems will be available for $40 with a service charge of only $10/month for 1GB of usage per month.
