NEW STUDY REVEALS AFFORDABILITY – NOT LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE – IS GREATEST BARRIER TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET ACCESS IN NEW JERSEY
NEW STUDY REVEALS AFFORDABILITY – NOT LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE – IS GREATEST BARRIER TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET ACCESS IN NEW JERSEY
Findings Spotlight Continuing Digital Divide As New Jersey Receives “Internet for All” Planning Grants
Newark at Epicenter of At-Home Digital Divide Crisis
NEWARK, NJ – While efforts in New Jersey to close the digital divide have primarily focused on students’ needs for smart devices – a gap that was significantly closed during the pandemic – there remains deep inequity among families who can afford high-speed internet service at home and those who cannot. A new study by Newark-based nonprofits Project Ready and Newark Trust for Education finds that the biggest barrier to sufficient broadband access is affordability – not the lack of physical infrastructure – and that income and poverty are the best predictors of a neighborhood’s access to high-speed broadband.
“It doesn’t matter if homes are wired for broadband if residents can’t afford it,” said Shennell McCloud, CEO of Project Ready. “The internet is no longer a luxury – it’s a necessity in today’s world, and poor internet service gets in the way of school, work, and everything else a family needs to thrive. A chromebook and hotspot was a good first step, but it’s not enough to close the real digital divide that continues to exist. Now is the time for a concerted effort by all stakeholders to bring true ‘internet equity’ to New Jersey.”
While New Jersey’s average download speed is 136 Mbps, the average Newark family has a broadband speed of only 79.5 Mbps despite the infrastructure being in place – less than the 100 Mbps a family of four needs.
“This research proves that households in the lowest income brackets have internet access at roughly half the rate of those in the highest,” said Ronald Chaluisan, Executive Director of the Newark Trust for Education. “Given what we know about racial income inequality, the households most affected by this are Black and Latino, as we see specifically in the Newark research.”
The study compared the average internet download speed by zip code in Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, and Toms River.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law established the Affordable Connectivity Program to provide qualifying households with up to a $30 per month discount off their internet bills. In addition, New Jersey was recently awarded over $6 million in “Internet for All” planning grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to deploy affordable, high-speed internet throughout the state and close the digital equity gap, while the City of Newark is launching a city-wide broadband survey and speed test as part of an effort to bring affordable, high-speed internet city-wide.
“I commend the Murphy Administration and the Baraka Administration for their leadership and efforts to close the digital divide once and for all,” added Shennell McCloud. “We need an all-hands-on-deck approach from all stakeholders to make sure residents are aware of programs that are available to them and to continue the work to bring reliable, affordable broadband to everyone.”
Key Findings
- Poverty and income are the best predictors of internet speed and quality in New Jersey’s five biggest cities.
- A zip code’s poverty rate is the strongest predictor of average download speeds, followed by its median household income. Internet speed is measured by Mbps, with at least 100 Mbps required to sufficiently support a small family’s internet needs.
- Newark has the state’s biggest at-home digital divide, with dire implications for economic, educational, and social success. While New Jersey’s average download speed is 136 Mbps, despite the infrastructure being in place, the average Newark family has a broadband speed of only 79.5 Mbps. No Newark zip code averages 100 Mbps.
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- Households making less than $60,000 can only afford to access broadband with speeds less than 100 Mbps, which is the necessary download speed for a household of four.
- 37% of Newark’s public schools are in zip codes where average download speeds are between just 29% and 53% of statewide average download speeds.
The five cities examined ranked as follows in terms of weighted average broadband speed within their zip codes:
- Newark: 79.5 Mbps
- Paterson: 92.3 Mbps
- Elizabeth: 93.7 Mbps
- Jersey City: 106.4 Mbps
- Toms River: 164.7 Mbps
Methodology
Average broadband speed (Mbps) at the zip code level was retrieved from Broadband Now’s repository of proprietary plans and pricing data and from the FCC. Demographic, income, and poverty data at the zip code level was retrieved from US Census data. Regression analysis was applied to Essex County zip codes to analyze potential correlations between average download speeds and multiple population characteristics.
About Project Ready
Project Ready works to close the opportunity gaps and improve life outcomes by powering communities to demand social justice through civic engagement. The organization grows the base of voters and substantially increase voter turnout, while also reshaping policies that disenfranchise vulnerable communities. Visit https://www.projectreadynj.org/
About Newark Trust for Education
Newark Trust for Education is an independent nonprofit dedicated to coordinating and focusing ideas, people, and resources on the efficient and effective delivery of a quality public education to all children in Newark; and to creating broad and shared accountability for student success across multiple stakeholders. For more information, visit www.newarktrust.org
