For Immediate Release
July 20, 2023
News Media Contact:
NTIA, Office of Public Affairs, [email protected]
WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today it has awarded eight grants totaling $3,998,000 to eight Tribes as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP).
With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these new grants bring the total of the program to more than $1.78 billion awarded to 191 Tribal entities. Record investments in high-speed internet deployment are a key part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
This funding from President Biden’s Internet for All initiative will help Tribes reduce monthly Internet service costs, plan for future Internet infrastructure investments, upgrade network equipment, and purchase devices.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to bringing high-quality, affordable Internet access to every Tribal community,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “These investments will improve Internet access across six states and give Tribes the connectivity they need to work, learn, and access health care.”
These awards are part of the Biden Administration’s commitment to nation-to-nation engagement and an effort to connect everyone in America, including Native Americans and Alaska Natives, to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.
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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides a historic $65 billion in funding to connect everyone in America.
These grants are part of the TBCP’s equitable distribution process in recognition of the federal Indian trust responsibility and fiduciary obligation to Tribal governments. This process, also laid out in statute and in NTIA’s first TBCP Notice of Funding Opportunity, is intended to ensure that program funding is available to all eligible federally recognized Tribal governments who had a qualifying application. The grants listed below allow for Tribal communities to move forward in planning for future high-speed Internet infrastructure projects or promoting Internet use and adoption.
In the next weeks, NTIA will release a second Notice of Funding Opportunity for an additional round of funding from the TBCP program.
What They're Saying
A diverse group of stakeholders have offered their support for these grants. Click below to read their statements.
This investment is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which is growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out by rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, expanding access to high-speed Internet service, creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, and building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.
Table Mountain Rancheria
Applicant |
Location |
Project Type |
Funding Amount |
Project Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Table Mountain Rancheria | CA | Planning, Engineering, Feasibility, and Sustainability |
$500,000.00 |
The Planning, Engineering, Feasibility, and Sustainability project will focus on the pre-construction planning of an FTTH network and will include an environmental/cultural resources assessment, design and engineering, and purchase of fiber equipment. The project intends to benefit 30 Tribal households, Tribal governmental offices, and anchor institutions on the Rancheria with future broadband deployment of speeds that at least meet the minimum requirements of 25/3 Mbps. |
Nez Perce Tribe
Applicant |
Location |
Project Type |
Funding Amount |
Project Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nez Perce Tribe | ID | Broadband Infrastructure Deployment |
$500,000.00 |
This Broadband Infrastructure Deployment project will purchase broadband equipment to facilitate future deployment of broadband infrastructure. |
Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
Applicant |
Location |
Project Type |
Funding Amount |
Project Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska | KS, NE | Use and Adoption |
$498,000.00 |
This Broadband Use and Adoption project aims to replace end of life equipment which will service existing public Wi-Fi at community anchor institutions. With revitalized broadband capabilities, the applicant will create a technology learning center for Staff and Tribal members, which will further digital inclusion efforts to include educational and workforce opportunities, public health, and economic development. |
Osni Ponca, LLC
Applicant |
Location |
Project Type |
Funding Amount |
Project Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osni Ponca, LLC | NE | Planning, Engineering, Feasibility, and Sustainability |
$500,000.00 |
This Planning, Engineering, Feasibility, and Sustainability project will enable network design and planning activities, including technical support for the development of deployment agreements with interconnection partners. These activities are necessary intermediate steps for the future deployment of the OSNI Ponca broadband network and its goal of connecting every household within the OSNI Ponca Tribal lands with 1 Gbps service. |
Pueblo of Jemez
Applicant |
Location |
Project Type |
Funding Amount |
Project Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pueblo of Jemez | NM | Broadband Infrastructure Deployment |
$500,000.00 |
This Broadband Infrastructure Deployment project will construct a new wireless tower to provide viable Internet access and critical services to Tribal members and ensure that the outlying regions of the Pueblo Jemez have access to basic critical needs, including education, health, safety, and social services. |
Pueblo of Nambe
Applicant |
Location |
Project Type |
Funding Amount |
Project Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pueblo of Nambe | NM | Broadband Infrastructure Deployment |
$500,000.00 |
This Broadband Infrastructure Deployment project take initial steps toward the deployment underground and aerial fiber networks as part of the Pueblo of Nambe’s Phase I Broadband Deployment Project. Once all project phases are complete, all unserved Pueblo of Nambe households will be able to access qualifying broadband service. |
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Applicant |
Location |
Project Type |
Funding Amount |
Project Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swinomish Indian Tribal Community | WA | Broadband Use and Adoption |
$500,000.00 |
This dual Broadband Use and Adoption and Planning, Engineering, Feasibility, and Sustainability project will provide broadband subsidies for eligible Tribal households and fund pre-construction activities intended to provide future broadband service to 289 Tribal households, 9 Tribally owned businesses, and 31 Tribal community anchor institutions. This project is expected to enable broadband adoption activities, including telehealth and remote learning, and prepare the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community for the future deployment of a ~47.5-mile middle- and last-mile fiber network that will be deployed both aerially and underground. |
Makah Indian Tribe
Applicant |
Location |
Project Type |
Funding Amount |
Project Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makah Indian Tribe | WA | Broadband Infrastructure Deployment |
$500,000.00 |
This Broadband Infrastructure Deployment project proposes to connect 59 unserved households and one community anchor institution to qualifying broadband service ranging from 25/3 Mbps to 50/10 Mbps via an FTTH and fixed wireless network, and to upgrade an existing microwave middle-mile network. |
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About the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the Executive Branch agency that advises the President on telecommunications and information policy issues. NTIA’s programs and policymaking focus largely on expanding broadband Internet access and adoption in America, expanding the use of spectrum by all users, advancing public safety communications, and ensuring that the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.