NEWTON – There’s nothing revolutionary these days about the need for internet service.

It is, as was mentioned Tuesday morning, as vital to life as water and sewers.

That makes it a problem when swaths of New Jersey – the most congested state in the union – still lack dependable broadband service.

That’s the case in rural (by N.J. standards) Sussex County.

Only five of the county’s 24 towns have 100 percent access to internet service and some towns do not even have 50 percent coverage

That brought Phil Murphy to the county town of Lafayette three years ago when he said the state had received $190 million in federal funds to expand broadband service.

Things in government do move slowly, but that doesn’t mean they don’t move at all.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer visited Planet Networks, an internet service provider, on Tuesday to say that $50 million of the state’s share is now available for Sussex County. Local officials need to apply for it.

Gottheimer and Robert Boyle, the CEO of Planet Networks, dramatized the problem.

Not having reliable Internet service impacts everyone. But as the congressman and Boyle pointed out, it can be particularly troublesome for students, who may otherwise need to go to a library, and seniors, who often need the internet to set up medical appointments.

“Today’s announcement is incredibly important for Sussex County,” said Gottheimer, whose 5th District includes part of the county.

Additionally, an additional $523 in federal money is coming to New Jersey through the infrastructure act of 2021. That, too, could help expand broadband.

The lack of complete Internet service in Sussex County is not a secret.

In fact, it was discussed at a recent campaign forum among five men seeking two Republican nominations for county commissioner.

Murphy’s visit was noted, as was the fact not much has happened since.

Today’s event was designed to change that, or as Gottheimer described the goal:

“Connecting the unconnected.”

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