Tribal Communities Create Own Broadband Networks

Native nations, often underserved by telecommunications services, are banding together to build broadband networks. Madyson Fitzgerald explains in Stateline, noting that “In 2020, more than 18% of people living on tribal lands didn’t have access to broadband technology, compared with about 4% of people living in non-tribal areas, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.”

In Arizona, Hopi Telecommunications, which serves Hopi and Navajo communities with traditional internet, is now building a fiber optic network to bring high-speed internet to homes.

Federal and state government programs are helping fund broadband initiatives, too. “One of the measures in California’s Digital Equity Bill of Rights, a first-of-its-kind bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, outlines how the state should ensure that all Californians have equal access to broadband.” The Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program subsidizes broadband service for households, but that program is in jeopardy unless it secures additional funding.

Other challenges for tribal broadband providers include maintaining sufficient staff and meeting high operational expenses in far-flung rural areas.