Subsidised broadband Spark Jump bridges Digital Divide in Feilding

Today Spark Foundation and 20/20 Trust have announced that subsidised broadband is now available in Feilding through the district library so that more students can keep up with the digital skills necessary for today.  

As classroom learning goes digital, students without broadband at home are at risk of being left behind. Spark Jump enables more students to go online outside of classroom hours and get on the right side of the Digital Divide. Families with children up to the age of 18 and no current broadband connection are eligible for the programme. They will receive a modem and a wireless broadband connection and pay $10 for 30GB with no fixed term contract.  As a pre-pay service, the modem can be topped up at any time in the same way as pre-pay mobile phones.

Spark Foundation partners with community-based organisations like 20/20 Trust to deliver wireless broadband to families without internet. The Trust is active in communities around the country and collaborates with local partners to select families for the programme based on the eligibility criteria set by the Spark Foundation and the intent to support education. 

In Feilding the Public Library will help families set up and manage their internet connections. Interested families should contact the library to enquire when the Spark Jump sessions are being held.

Vicki Wills, Partnerships and Programmes Lead at Manawatu District Libraries, says Spark Jump will help close the skills gap between families who can afford home broadband and those who can't.

"Access to the internet is really important to get our children better placed to do amazing things in school and later in life. We know that for some families home broadband is not affordable and Spark Jump will help more children in Feilding participate in the digital world," says Vicki.

General Manager of Spark Foundation Lynne Le Gros is pleased the partnership with 20/20 Trust is expanding the reach of Spark Jump to reach more families at risk of being digitally excluded. 

“We’re pleased to serve communities around the country with a truly useful product like subsidised broadband. We're excited to see Spark Jump turn more homes in Feilding into digital learning environments and enable more students to thrive in the digital world,” says Ms. Le Gros. 
 
Notes to the editor: 

• According to the 2013 NZ Census, there were 62,000 households with school-aged children which said they did not have home broadband (or which did not specify whether they had broadband).   
• Spark Foundation has partnered with several organisations working in local communities around New Zealand including 20/20 Trust, The Greater Christchurch Schools Network, Web Access Waikato Trust, Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru in Rotorua, DIGITS in Palmerston North and a school cluster in Napier.
• Spark Jump uses the Skinny Broadband platform and provides wireless home broadband via a 4G mobile signal connecting with the nearest cell tower. Families are provided with a modem to use at no cost, with the support from technology partner Huawei. 
• Families with children up to the age of 18 who do not currently have a broadband connection at home and have suitable 4G coverage are eligible for the programme.

Local contact:

Vicki Wills
Partnerships and Programmes Lead, Manawatu District Libraries
06 323 5373
vicki.wills@mdc.govt.nz