U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell recently announced the Nisqually Indian Tribe has been awarded $499,960 for a Broadband Infrastructure Deployment project through the Department of Commerce’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.
Cantwell serves as the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
“Tribes throughout the state of Washington are working to make sure all of their community members have reliable and affordable internet access,” Cantwell stated in a news release. “This award will help the Nisqually Tribe continue its work to build broadband infrastructure so that all tribal members can access telehealth, participate in remote learning, and engage in other online services that require high-speed internet.”
Nisqually Tribal Chairman William Frank III said the tribe is positioning itself to compete in the modern economy.
“High-speed broadband is an essential prerequisite that will help level (the) playing field for our students, businesses and community at large,” Frank stated in the release. “The tribe will deploy this grant funding to design and construct an on-reservation Technology Center Pod for the administration of our Open Access Network, which is part of a broader collaboration to provide high-speed internet access to the Nisqually Reservation and our surrounding neighbors.”
Frank said the tribe appreciates Cantwell’s efforts in Congress to create the funding and her overall support of the tribe’s application.
The tribe’s Broadband Infrastructure Deployment project outlines pre-deployment activities to prepare for full deployment, stated the release. The project proposes to design and construct an on-reservation Technology Center Pod to provide space for oversight and administration of the Open Access Network (OAN), as part of a larger broadband initiative to collaborate with other telecommunications companies in the area to deliver high speed internet services to tribal residents and tribal facilities that currently do not have access to basic internet services.
The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is a nearly $3 billion grant program and part of President Joe Biden’s Internet for All Initiative, stated the release. The program is funded through $980 million made available from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and $2 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Grants are directed to tribal governments to be used for broadband deployment on tribal lands, as well as for telehealth, distance learning, broadband affordability and digital inclusion.
Throughout her time in the Senate, Cantwell has helped secure $65 billion in grant funding in the BIL to increase broadband access in rural and underserved communities, including $2 billion for the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, stated the release.
A total of $93,484,549 has so far been awarded to nine tribes in Washington from the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.
