Thousands Of Newark Students Get Free Phones, Internet

NEWARK, NJ — More than 4,000 Newark public school students got free Sprint wireless devices last week, part of Sprint’s “1Million Project” to provide one million high school students across the nation with free, high-speed internet access.

The free devices were distributed on Nov. 17 at Weequahic High School. Sprint will provide the devices and service to participating students for up to four years while they attend high school, Newark city officials stated in a news release.

Through the program, students get:

• 3 GB per month of free high-speed LTE data while on the Sprint network. Unlimited data is available at 2G speeds if usage exceeds 3 GB in a month.
• A free smartphone or hotspot device
• Free hotspot capability and unlimited domestic calls/text while on the Sprint network for students who receive a smartphone

According to city officials, the devices are equipped with Sprint Guardian, a free content filter solution on the Sprint Network designed to block access to content deemed harmful to minors as required by the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

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Photo courtesy of Bashir Muhammad Akinyele