Meet Valarry
September 19, 2024
Exit to Exit, New Jersey’s Broadband Office is Getting IT Done!For Vallarry Bullard, a six-month consultant project in 2012 to reconcile President Obama’s ARRA stimulus program has turned into a 12-year journey, culminating with her current role as New Jersey’s broadband czar. The New Jersey broadband office has seven people under Bullard and oversees BEAD, digital equity, and capital projects. Bullard readily admits leaning on her colleagues in other states for advice and to help get the office off the ground and going. “Christine from Vermont was the first person I met, and then I just kept going to events, meeting with and working with other states. I knew that while our broadband office was new, the impact of the lack of internet access was not.” “Being a younger state broadband office without an established presence in these spaces, specifically as it relates to infrastructure, is definitely something that's a challenge for us,” says Bullard. “There are a lot of lessons learned that we're hearing from other states when it comes to being able to identify what these formal processes should be when it comes to judging what the timeline would be for an infrastructure project.” “We kind of have an underdog approach,” explains Bullard. “I don’t think people realize this, but we do have connectivity needs even though we are a very connected state. And while our numbers may not compare to other states, this work is still just as important in our state.”How You Doin? Bullard is a bit bemused when asked how she ended up “Director of the New Jersey Office of Broadband Connectivity, but it quickly becomes apparent that her unique skill set makes her an obvious choice. Bullard is well versed in IT, website builds, overseeing grants, project management, and community engagement. If that wasn’t enough, she also holds a master's degree in global economic development. It turns out that Bullard originated the broadband office herself when traveling state-to-state and quickly realizing the hole in New Jersey’s resume. Since Bullard was already running the ARPA and CARES funding in New Jersey, she was the obvious choice. It was a clear case of, careful what you suggest… they might just make YOU do it! She wraps up her recollection of landing her current position laughing, saying “we didn’t have a conversation as to what broadband in the state would or should look like. It was as simple as, ‘broadband seems to be internet, and internet seems to be websites. How would you like to lead the broadband office?’” [Board of Public Utilities | NJBPU President Appoints Director of Broadband Office.] Don’t be a Schmutz, CPF is Critical in New Jersey! When the Capital Projects Fund (CPF) dollars became available, the approach was to, yes, build infrastructure, but to also apply dollars to enabling programs. These included $15 million to equip New Jersey TRANSIT with Wi-Fi onboard buses to help address “inequities in internet access.” Of course, being productive on a commute has its own economic development advantages. The state also invested $5 million in device access programs at public-facing facilities like libraries. Bullard also says that she and her team are partnered with the state library system to connect with local libraries and educate librarians on broadband, its importance, and the opportunities opened by high-speed internet service. A portion of the CPF investment announced was, of course, infrastructure and broadband builds. The New Jersey Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Equity (NJBIDE) program will dole out $50 million to build to under and unserved BSLs. Bullard sees the $50 million allocation as a bit of a ‘pilot program’ for BEAD. She hopes to take lessons learned from NJBIDE to ensure a much stronger go-forward process with BEAD. Bullard and her team are in the process of designing project areas based partly on identifying “some of our most devastated, unserved areas.”“Let's take a subset of these funds and get an understanding of what it looks like to truly deploy broadband infrastructure in our state,” says Bullard. “And part of the requirement will be outreach and education.” Bullard and her team are currently developing an RFP for the $50 million in the NJBIDE program. RFP guidance will be published on the office’s website (which Bullard could web develop herself given her background) by the end of the year so potential applicants can understand the application process.The full breakdown of New Jersey’s CPF can be found here. You Good with BEAD? Fuggetabout it!Bullard is confident that New Jersey’s BEAD allocation of $263.7 million will be enough to cover all unserved and underserved areas. This may seem like a lot of BSLs for a densely populated state, but rural northwestern New Jersey as well as parts of southern New Jersey have a good amount of BSLs in need. Bullard’s optimism is boosted by the fact that CPF will (obviously) take some off the board for needed builds. Additionally, two counties in the southern part of the state are currently deploying a $24 million Federally funded project to build a middle mile network. While most states are either done with or finishing up the BEAD challenge process, Bullard says New Jersey’s will not open until the 4th quarter. “We’re a very thorough state, we want to make sure we get this right.” “We hope that by the end of the year, we'll be in a position where we have a true date as to when we'll formally start accepting applications for BEAD,” says Bullard. “We want to at least bring as much awareness to these programs and funds and what that application process is going to look like.”In line with this thoroughness is that Volume 2 was just approved on September 6. With a later approval than others, this means less time that will be eaten into the 365-day ‘shot clock.’ Bullard was not entirely anxious about this when we talked as she emphasized that “whenever Volume Two is approved, the timeline is the same.” That timeline is the challenge process starting before the end of the year followed by an initial robust round of applicant selection. She anticipates that construction will get underway in early 2026 and last 18+ months. Broadband Usage Matters “Yes, we’re focused on getting everyone physically connected,” says Bullard. “But what we’ve realized is that the amount of funding we've received gives us an opportunity to be creative in our approach to close the digital divide. So, we are focused on driving education for actual use of each connection.” Bullard explains that her economic development background may make her approach a little different than other states in that she’s focusing on driving tangible utilization for better health care, education, and workforce and economic development. “How do we build out our job force with these connections?” asks Bullard “Because the job force impacts all of the fields that are important to the state.” Bullard acknowledges that the need for faster service isn’t understood by many. In short, it’s available across most of the state, but when there is a lack of adoption it creates gaps in access to vital services that Bullard plans to fill. This strikes close to home for a broadband office that finds itself smack dab in New Jersey’s board of public utilities. While Bullard sees broadband as a utility, a key component for public safety, emergency management, and public services…she does acknowledge that unlike water and electricity, this utility needs to be explained for its true value to be realized. “It's teaching people how connectivity directly and indirectly impacts them.”Much of the state’s outreach currently is most effective when aligning with existing events with community partners. We heard the same from Mississippi’s Sally Doty. “Leveraging the support and trust of community leaders is the most effective way to communicate as well as educate, even if it is only for a 5-minute spiel.” No Exit Ramp Off the Parkway or the Broadband OfficeBullard was raised in New Jersey and has lived there all her life except for the years she ventured 90 minutes away to attend college at the University of Bridgeport. “Well, I've always looked at this as a thankless job,” says Bullard. “The department of labor can point to jobs created, the health department can talk about outreach and telemedicine use, etc.” says Bullard. “Internet and technology play a key role in each of those and more, but better broadband isn’t necessarily credited, and that’s okay. No one's going to come to the broadband office and say you saved the day.”She is resigned to the thought that this is a bit of a thankless job and, while job security is great, the job of continuously improving the state’s broadband services is probably never really done. Asked why she takes on this somewhat thankless role, the career government employee summed it up this way, “I know the need is out there and I've seen how it's impacted people's access to vital opportunities. And I get to play a hand in helping fill this tremendous need!
