Official Site of The State of New Jersey
NJBIDE Application timeline
The Board is accepting public comments on BPU Docket No. TO23100776, In the Matter of NJ Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Pilot Program, with a deadline of 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 30, 2025. Submit comments online using the "Post Comments" button on the Board's Public Document Search tool.
E-filing instructions are available at https://www.nj.gov/bpu/agenda/efiling/. Please submit any questions regarding this request for comments to Broadband@bpu.nj.gov.
Application
Application submission requirements:
- Application Intake Form Walkthrough Video
In this video, you are instructed to submit the Application intake form to the SAGE/IGX portal. Please disregard these instructions, and submit the intake form, as well as all other required documents, to the BPU e-Filing system.
All NJBIDE applicants are required to submit the following items:
Please refer to the following document for instructions on how to name each of your required documents: NJBIDE file naming conventions
| Item name | Description | Format |
| Application intake form (template provided | The excel form that applicants use to give their responses, which includes the project budget | xlsx |
| Attestations (template provided) | Signed attestation of a list of items as outlined by NJBIDE Application Instructions. Applicants can print it from the application intake form | |
| Project Information Form (template provided) | General information about the applicant / the project | xlsx |
| Project area shapefiles | Shapefiles of the project area and the proposed locations to be served, including their location IDs | shapefiles |
| Network diagram | The network diagram that shows, at a minimum, proposed middle-mile and last-mile routes for wireline networks. For wireless networks, the diagram should indicate tower locations, show anticipated coverage areas for each tower, and include backhaul routes (if wireline) or indicate wireless point to point links. | |
| Audited financial statements |
One of the following items:
|
|
| Proof of funding availability |
One of the following items:
|
|
| Evidence of support | Evidence of support for the project from citizens, local government, businesses, and institutions in the community (e.g. letters of support or other correspondence supporting the project) | |
| Community engagement plan | Document explaining what you have done or what will you do to engage your community to ensure active community involvement and transparency throughout the project lifecycle, from the initial stages through post-deployment | |
| Plan to address affordability |
Document explaining how you have considered affordability in your proposed service offerings OR how you will consider affordability as a grant awardee
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If applicable, certain NJBIDE applicants may also need to submit the following items:
| Condition | Item Name | Description | Format |
| If the applicant has any existing served locations in NJ | Existing service area | Shapefiles of the existing served locations in NJ, including their location IDs | shapefiles |
| If the applicant or any of its subsidiaries, affiliates, or parent companies have filed for bankruptcy | Disclosure of bankruptcy filings | Disclosure of bankruptcy filings by the applicant, subsidiary, affiliate, or holding company | |
| If the applicant or any of its partners, including any subsidiary, affiliate, or holding company of the applicant or its partners, has a history of penalties or litigation related to previous broadband infrastructure projects | History of penalties or litigation | Supporting documentation to demonstrate the circumstances and any corrective actions taken | |
| If the applicant requires assets owned by another entity to be used for the project for wired infrastructure deployment | Contractual agreement | A copy of the agreement between the applicant and the owner | |
| If the applicant responds "Yes" to any of the questions on the Treasury’s CPF Environmental Checklist (contained in the application intake form) | Environmental permits | Environmental permits as listed out in the Environmental Checklist | |
| (Highly encouraged, but not required) | Workforce plan | An optional workforce plan prioritizing the hiring of local, New Jersey resident workers, to include a signed letter of intent with a post-secondary educational institution that is a member of or affiliated with the New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC), County Vocational School Districts, or Career Technical Education Partnerships of NJ (Career Tech NJ), containing an obligation upon the applicant, and contractors or subcontractors of the applicant, to put forth a good-faith effort to hire, when possible, recent graduates of broadband-related programs. At minimum, the optional workforce plan should also contain a commitment to offer wages at or above the prevailing rate and a description of the applicant’s safety and training standards |
Application Assistance
Register for NJBIDE Office Hours
Beginning on January 7th, Office hours will take place weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00PM-2:00PM through February 6th.
January 7: Office hours recording
January 9: Office hours recording
January 14: Office hours recording
January 16: Office hours recording
January 21: There were no questions during this session
January 23: There were no questions during this session
January 28: Office hours recording
January 30: Office hours recording
February 4: Office hours recording
February 6: Office hours recording (Link coming soon)
Register for two upcoming technical assistance webinars:
January 8, 2025: Assistance with accessing NJBIDE-eligible location data, community engagement, affordability, and other funding sources. Webinar deck | Webinar recording
January 15, 2025: Discussion on post-award processes and considerations. Webinar deck | Webinar recording
Scoring and Evaluation Criteria
Request a CostQuest License
Participating entities are encouraged to request a no-cost NTIA Tier D or Tier E License from CostQuest Associates to participate in the State Broadband Challenge Process. However, obtaining a CostQuest license is not required to participate in the challenge process. This license will permit licensees to view the BSL data on a more granular level and is an important tool for analyzing areas that may need to be challenged. The process to request a license may take up to two weeks.
How to Request a License
Review the NTIA Fabric Licensing FAQ to learn about the licensing process and determine the appropriate tier license for your organization.
Entities that participate in any federal broadband programs, including entities with reporting requirement or entities that plan to participate in the BEAD sub-granting process, should request a Tier D License. Internet service providers, for example, should request a Tier D license. Licensees will be similar to those with an FCC Fabric Tier 2 license.
Use this guide for requesting an NTIA Tier D to assist in completing the application process.
If you have any questions, CostQuest can be reached directly by emailing IFAsupport@costquest.com.
Entities that will participate in the challenge process, but do not participate in federal broadband programs, should request Tier E license. Nonprofit organizations, for example, should request Tier E license. Licensees will be similar to those with an FCC Fabric Tier 4 license.
Use this guide for requesting an NTIA Tier E to assist with completing the application process.
If you have any questions, CostQuest can be reached directly by emailing IFAsupport@costquest.com.
BPU e-Filing Portal (Infoshare)
To apply for an NJBIDE administered grant, applicants must submit all of their required documents to the BPU External Access Portal (e-Filing). This portal is also referred to as Infoshare.
Please refer to this BPU e-Filing System Walkthrough for step-by-step instructions on how to properly submit your documents. It is crucial that applicants reference the docket number TO23100776 and mark all documents as confidential before submitting, as explained in this walkthrough.
In addition, please refer to the “NJBIDE file naming conventions” document posted above, to ensure that you submit all the correct files and use the correct naming convention for each document.
Sage IGX Grant Management Portal Login
NJBIDE Pilot Program applicants are no longer required to submit their application through the SAGE IGX portal and should use the above BPU e-Filing Portal instead.
OBC will continue with the evaluation, scoring, and preliminary selection of NJBIDE awardees as planned and will use the SAGE/IGX Portal once awardees are selected.
Successful NJBIDE applicants will ultimately be instructed to enter their details into the SAGE/IGX system post-selection to move forward with grant agreement negotiations. Awards will be conditional upon completing all required processes in SAGE, including registering, submitting materials, and completing grant agreements.
- Capital Projects Fund Guidance for States, Territories, and Freely Associated States
- Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund Frequently Asked Questions
- Capital Projects Fund Best Practices for States, Territories, and Freely Associated States
- Revised Capital Projects Fund Compliance and Reporting Guidance for States, Territories, and Freely Associated States
- Capital Projects Fund Project and Expenditure Report User Guide
- 2023-CPF-Compliance-Supplement (21.029)
- 2022-CPF-Compliance-Supplement
- CPF Compliance and Reporting Responsibilities from Treasury
- Supplementary Broadband Guidance