The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today it has awarded nine grants as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). These new grants, totaling more than $73 million, bring the total of the program to $1.655 billion awarded to 121 Tribal entities.
Tribes in six states received grants – California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Nevada, and Washington. The Mashpee Wampanoag received a total of $9,130,691.63 for a broadband infrastructure deployment project.
Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Brian Weeden is excited at the progress this grant will usher in for his Tribal Nation. “A huge Kutâputush to everyone involved in bringing much needed infrastructure to our citizens,” said Chairman Weeden. “This latest round of support from the Biden Administration will help us build sustainable infrastructure that not only benefits our tribe but our neighbors that surround our tribal lands. Thank you to the entire team that helped bring in this important grant.”
With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, these grants will expand high-speed Internet service network deployment and digital skills training to improve access to education, jobs, and healthcare on Tribal lands.
NTIA announced the awards today at the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit held at the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C.
“The Biden administration is committed to fostering meaningful partnerships with Tribal Nations, which have been vital to our goal of connecting everyone in America, including American Indians and Natives, with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “These grants – made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – highlight the Biden administration’s unprecedented commitment to closing the digital divide in Native communities.”
The projects funded by these awards will directly connect 3,107 unserved Native American households that previously had no connectivity to high-speed Internet as well as businesses and anchor institutions. Additionally, the nine grants will create 49 new jobs. Additional grant awards will be announced on a rolling basis.
The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is a nearly $3 billion grant program and part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All Initiative. The funds are made available from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ($2 billion) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ($980 million).
The Broadband Infrastructure Deployment project proposes to install fiber directly connecting 130 unserved tribal households, two unserved tribal businesses, and 3 unserved tribal community anchor institutions with 25/3 Mbps qualifying broadband service.
Winona Pocknett, a staff accountant for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe who worked closely on the grant, sees this as an opportunity that will define life as modern, traditional people. “We are honored to be included in this award that will bring reliable and, more importantly, affordable high-speed internet to many of our tribal members. Our tribal households have struggled with financial and physical infrastructure barriers to high-speed internet for too long. Today, we have taken a large step toward closing that gap. This funding means we can now give our youth the same educational resources that their peers enjoy, and our elders will have access to essential resources and news that will keep them connected and healthy. It also builds our tribal economy in a sustainable way for future generations. The creator and our ancestors have blessed us with this great opportunity.”
Pulling together a proposal for a grant of this size requires a team. The team that pulled together the successful application included Chairman Brian Weeden, Secretary Cassie Jackson, Kim Maida, Venesscia Cresci and a tremendous amount of support from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, the Town of Mashpee, the Massachusetts Delegates, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Biden-Harris Administration.
About Internet for All
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes a historic $65 billion investment to expand affordable and reliable high-speed Internet access in communities across the U.S. NTIA recently launched a series of new high-speed Internet grant programs funded by the law that will build high-speed Internet infrastructure across the country, create more low-cost high-speed Internet service options, and address the digital equity and inclusion needs in our communities.
Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward Internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Visit AffordableConnectivity.gov to learn more.
For more information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s high-speed Internet service programs as well as quotes from the awardees, please visit InternetforAll.gov.
