Calling high-speed internet access a "basic need" like running water or electricity, a New Jersey-based nonprofit plans to bring broadband access to thousands of low-income families statewide.

Nonprofit JerseyOn launched the program today at Jersey City's Lincoln High School, where school officials say about 80 percent of students do not have high-speed internet in their homes. School officials today said this affects a student's ability to do homework, study for exams and prepare for college and post-graduation life.

Sangeeta Ranade, president of the Jersey City Board of Education, said JerseyOn's plan to get high-speed internet connectivity in the homes of the school's low-income families is a "game changer."

"This is how we actually make learning more meaningful outside of this building," Ranade said today inside the high school's library.

For a one-time fee of $40, JerseyOn will supply a mobile hot spot device that provides one gigabyte of data per month to three different electronic devices. The nonprofit, funded with private donations from Bill Gates and the Knight Foundation, among others, can also provide unlimited internet access for $10 per month and low-cost, refurbished tablets or laptops starting at $150.

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