New Jersey

Connecting New Jersey

Rutgers University at Newark and Felician University each received Connecting Minority Community (CMC) Pilot Program grants of $2.7 million and $2.3 million, respectively. These grants are being used to reach covered populations and to inform the universities’ work around digital equity and workforce development, standardized working practices and barriers to workplace development, which include digital skills.

Rutgers University at Newark has been particularly instrumental in their outreach with previously incarcerated individuals (through the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons [STEP] Program) and working on getting them into apprenticeship programs in the Newark community (as seen through partnerships with TeknoGrid). Introductory meetings were held in the spring of 2023, following the Broadband Summit, and relevant individuals joined the state’s monthly Workforce Development working group.

Felician University’s Project FELICE: Fostering Equity in Learning Through Inclusion, Connectivity, and Engagement, aims to expand the university's broadband capacity and improve broadband access, adoption, and digital skills for students, other university stakeholders, and anchor communities. The university is improving broadband connectivity on campus by working with a local business, Glencom Inc., and using new, high quality, American fiber. Felician also worked with Apple to distribute over 800 iPads to eligible undergraduate and graduate students. Finally, one of its most innovative projects is training a cohort of students from the counseling psychology department on best practices for telemedicine.

Public Outreach on OICG Programs

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the New Jersey Office of Broadband Connectivity (OBC) cohosted monthly public outreach meetings starting in February 2023 (12 as of December 2023), which have averaged 85 participants per meeting. At the meetings, NTIA and OBC gave the public timely updates on Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity program next steps.

Public Engagement

The NTIA, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, New Jersey OBC, and New Jersey League of Municipalities co-hosted an Internet for All Broadband Summit in New Brunswick on April 17, 2023. The workshop highlighted the need for collaboration among all stakeholders, the critical challenges New Jerseyans face regarding broadband adoption and deployment, and the importance of including digital skills in workforce development. The event raised awareness of OBC’s mission and deepened their stakeholder engagement. Over 200 people attended, both in-person and virtually.