3440MM414

Purpose:
The Cumberland County and Salem County Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Project will construct approximately 220 route miles of fiber, creating an interconnecting series of rings. Throughout the two-county NJ region, there are significant paths with underserved and unserved residents living with slow internet access or with no broadband at all. These underserved populations are among the most impacted by the lack of competition between the current providers in the region. The proposed network will promote equitable access to broadband internet connection across these populations, while simultaneously providing this access at an affordable cost to these residents by enabling smaller internet service providers (ISPs) to enter the market. The project will enable ISPs to make their case for providing better service - both broadband internet service and customer service - to the difficult-to-service areas. With greater competition, the companies currently providing services can be expected to increase their level of service, providing more consistent delivery, increased customer service, and lower prices.

Activities to be performed:
The project will use fiber to build resilient middle mile through un/underserved communities over the next two years, committed to open access and carrier-neutral non-discriminatory interconnect.

Expected outcomes:
The project aims to advance the Middle Mile Grant Program's key objectives.
1. By creating four interlocking rings through the unserved and underserved areas, the project aims to encourage the expansion of middle mile infrastructure to reduce the cost of connecting these areas.
2. The network will connect to Philadelphia and Delaware for redundancy. Built-in laterals and redundant node points further minimize the impact of outages.
3. Additionally, it is expected that this infrastructure will provide service to the un- and underserved populations of Cumberland and Salem counties and will increase competition among the areas of the counties that have service, ultimately lowering end-user prices.

Intended beneficiaries:
Beneficiaries include constituents in the communities of Cumberland and Salem counties. In these counties, there are substantial underserved and unserved populations. The FCC 477 July to December 2021 mapping data shows 22.57% unserved census blocks. These pockets tend to be somewhat sparsely populated with high levels of low- or moderate-income. 2020 Census data provides that the combined population of the two counties is 218,989, with 154,152 residents in Cumberland and 64,837 residents in Salem. This is an area with extraordinary poverty: while New Jersey's poverty rate is 9.4%, Cumberland has a poverty rate of 14.4% and Salem 13.0%. Beneficiaries of the proposed project include students. The region's educational attainment lags the state. For NJ residents over 25 years old, 40.7% achieved a bachelor's degree or higher. In Salem and Cumberland, the rates are 21.7% and 16.6%, respectively. This project will increase opportunities for employment and access to schooling and healthcare, improving the standard of living. Lastly, this project will help first responders in emergencies, whether individual or national assets are at risk, including a nuclear power plant. Major network assets will be connected, including E911 and public safety radio towers.

Subrecipient activities:
No.

County Of Cumberland

11.033 - Middle Mile (Broadband) Grant Program

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) [DOC]

Bridgeton, New Jersey 08302-2458 United States

Single Zip Code

None

Infrastructure $24,176,692 (100%) percent this Project Grant was funded by the 2021 Infrastructure Act.