{"id":19916,"date":"2022-01-14T18:10:05","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T23:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=19916"},"modified":"2022-01-14T18:10:06","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T23:10:06","slug":"cronkite-news-tribes-face-challenges-in-securing-broadband-grants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/01\/14\/cronkite-news-tribes-face-challenges-in-securing-broadband-grants\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Tribes face challenges in securing broadband grants"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<iframe frameborder=\"0\" height=\"360\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/isvp\/?type=arch&amp;comm=indian&amp;filename=indian011222&amp;auto_play=false&amp;poster=https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/sites\/all\/themes\/ldsbootstrap\/images\/Indian-affairs-video-bg.png\"><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Senate Committee on Indian Affairs: <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/01\/12\/closing-the-digital-divide-in-native-communities-through-infrastructure-investment\/>Closing the Digital Divide in Native Communities through Infrastructure Investment &#8211; January 11, 2022<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Vicious circle: Tribal broadband program hindered by lack of broadband<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Friday, January 14, 2022<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Camila Pedrosa<\/div>\r\n<DIV class=source>Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n<DIV class=source-website><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. &#8212;  Tribal advocates told a Senate panel this week the federal government\u2019s effort to fund expanded broadband infrastructure in Indian Country overlooked a fundamental issue.<p><\/p>\r\nMany tribes did not have the broadband access needed to apply for the funding that would let them improve broadband access.<p><\/p>\r\nInformation about the first round of grants was available only online, and tribes were encouraged to apply online in a 90-day window during the pandemic. The upshot, said Matthew Rantanen, was that only about half of all eligible tribal communities applied for the funding.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cSome of the tribes didn\u2019t get enough of the information about it or didn\u2019t have access already, which we know they don\u2019t have access to broadband,\u201d said Rantanen, the co-chair of the National Congress of American Indians Subcommittee on Technology and Telecommunications.<p><\/p>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"280\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/playlists\/1378567171&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/indianz\" title=\"indianz\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">indianz<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/indianz\/sets\/closing-the-digital-divide-in-native-communities-through-infrastructure-investment\" title=\"Closing the Digital Divide in Native Communities through Infrastructure Investment\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">Closing the Digital Divide in Native Communities through Infrastructure Investment<\/a><\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Indianz.Com Audio: <a href=https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/indianz\/sets\/closing-the-digital-divide-in-native-communities-through-infrastructure-investment>Senate Committee on Indian Affairs &#8211; Closing the Digital Divide in Native Communities through Infrastructure Investment &#8211; January 11, 2022<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHis comments came during a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/hearing\/roundtable-discussion-closing-digital-divide-native-communities-through-infrastructure\">roundtable discussion<\/a> Wednesday on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration&#8217;s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, a multibillion-dollar program aimed at increasing digital equity in tribal communities.<p><\/p>\r\nOriginally created as a $980 million program in the fiscal 2021 budget, <a href=\"https:\/\/broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov\/resources\/grant-programs\/tribal-broadband-connectivity-program\">the program<\/a> got another $2 billion infusion as part of the bipartisan $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that passed in November.<p><\/p>\r\nThe first phase of the program set aside up to $500,000 for each of the 574 federally recognized tribes, that they could seek to use for broadband projects. Paper applications were accepted, but the program\u2019s online FAQ page says that \u201cNTIA <a href=\"https:\/\/broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2021-07\/TBCP%20FAQ%20Final%207-1-2021.pdf\">prefers that applicants<\/a> use Grants.gov to submit their applications.&#8221;<p><\/p>\r\nNot only was it difficult for some tribes to access information on the grants, but the short timeframe during a pandemic made it hard for many tribal councils to meet and discuss their applications, said Rantanen, who is also on the board of Arizona State University\u2019s American Indian Policy Institute.<p><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/01\/14\/cronkite-news-tribes-face-challenges-in-securing-broadband-grants\/navajonation-19\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19922\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1600\" data-attachment-id=\"19922\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/01\/14\/cronkite-news-tribes-face-challenges-in-securing-broadband-grants\/navajonation-19\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/14\/navajonation.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1600\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Navajo Nation\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Then a second-grader, Winona Begaye uploads homework from the backseat of her family\u2019s car on the Navajo reservation in this 2020 file photo. Lack of broadband access led many tribal schools to set up such portable Wi-Fi sites when schools were closed by the COVID-19 pandemic. (File photo by Megan Marples\/Cronkite News)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/14\/navajonation-1024x640.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/14\/navajonation.jpg\" alt=\"Navajo Nation\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-19922\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Then a second-grader, Winona Begaye uploads homework from the backseat of her family\u2019s car on the Navajo reservation in this 2020 file photo. Lack of broadband access led many tribal schools to set up such portable Wi-Fi sites when schools were closed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  File photo by Megan Marples \/ Cronkite News <\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAccess is not the only issue dogging the program faces: Government agencies cannot agree on the scope of the problem.<p><\/p>\r\nFederal Communications Commission <a href=\"https:\/\/assets.morningconsult.com\/wp-uploads\/2021\/11\/15164812\/FCC-21-18A1-2.pdf\">data from 2019<\/a> showed that fixed broadband services reached 95.6% of the nation as a whole, but just 79.1% of people on tribal lands &#8211; and only 46.5% of tribal households had adopted these services. The FCC bases its report on geospatial data collected by broadband providers showing where broadband currently exists and could potentially exist.<p><\/p>\r\nBut <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/700\/694934.pdf\">a 2018 report<\/a> by the Government Accountability Office said the FCC data overstates tribal broadband availability, by lumping in areas where infrastructure could be expanded with areas where broadband is available.<p><\/p>\r\nSen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said the data can lead lawmakers to believe the situation is less severe than it actually is.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe have actual bad data, which leads policymakers \u2026 to engage in magical thinking about who has broadband connectivity,&#8221; said Schatz, the chairman of the committee.<p><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/01\/14\/cronkite-news-tribes-face-challenges-in-securing-broadband-grants\/tribal-broadband\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19924\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1324\" data-attachment-id=\"19924\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/01\/14\/cronkite-news-tribes-face-challenges-in-securing-broadband-grants\/tribal-broadband\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/14\/satellitedishalaska.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1324\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Government Accountability Office&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;A satellite dish serves a home in Beaver, Alaska, from a 2016 GAO report on challenges in bringing internet access to tribal areas.. (&lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/ErtzSs\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;Photo&lt;\/a&gt; by &lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/usgao\/\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;U.S. Government Accountability Office&lt;\/a&gt;.)&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1642085171&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Tribal Broadband&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Tribal Broadband\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;A satellite dish serves a home in Beaver, Alaska, from a 2016 GAO report on challenges in bringing internet access to tribal areas.. (&lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/ErtzSs&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;Photo&lt;\/a&gt; by &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/usgao\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;U.S. Government Accountability Office&lt;\/a&gt;)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/14\/satellitedishalaska-1024x678.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/14\/satellitedishalaska.jpg\" alt=\"Tribal Broadband\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19924\" \/><\/a> A satellite dish serves a home in Beaver, Alaska, from a 2016 GAO report on challenges in bringing internet access to tribal areas. Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/usgao\/25229851546\/\">U.S. Government Accountability Office<\/a>[\/fc]\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nManuel Heart, chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Colorado, said that rural areas were especially affected by lack of connectivity during the pandemic.<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;We&#8217;ve had to put in some hotspots where parents have to bring their students to a parking lot just to access internet&#8221; when schools were shut down by COVID-19, he said.<p><\/p>\r\nThe NTIA said it has approved just five of the <a href=\"https:\/\/broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov\/resources\/grant-programs\/tribal-broadband-connectivity-program\">280 tribal applications<\/a> for the program so far, including one for the <a href=\"https:\/\/broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov\/tribal-broadband-connectivity-program-awardees#yavapaiapache\">Yavapai-Apache Nation<\/a> in Arizona. But not every tribe had major issues with the grant application during the pandemic.<p><\/p>\r\nWalter Haase, the general manager of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, said the Navajo Nation\u2019s self-funded infrastructure following an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ntia.doc.gov\/blog\/2014\/narrowing-digital-divide-navajo-nation\">Obama-era grant<\/a> has greatly improved the tribe\u2019s broadband access. That allowed it to avoid many of the problems with the online application format that hindered other tribes, he said.<p><\/p><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nInternet challenges on sprawling Navajo lands are steep. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez told <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.house.gov\/meetings\/IF\/IF00\/20200708\/110874\/HHRG-116-IF00-Wstate-NezJ-20200708.pdf\">a House committee<\/a> in 2020 that New Jersey is one-third the size of the Navajo Nation but had more than 1,300 communication towers compared to the tribe&#8217;s 1,000 towers &#8211; most of many of which were on the borders of the reservation.<p><\/p>\r\nBut Haase said forming public and private partnerships and creating nonprofit entities may help other tribes develop a more robust broadband system like the Navajo.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve made tremendous progress forward, and having that fiber backbone throughout the Navajo Nation \u2026 gives us an upper hand in solving the problem,\u201d he said.<p><\/p>\r\n<STRONG>For more stories from Cronkite News, visit <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=client\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<HR><EM>Note: This story originally <a href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2022\/01\/13\/vicious-circle-tribal-broadband-program-hindered-by-lack-of-broadband\/\">appeared on Cronkite News<\/a>.  It  is published via a <A href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative  Commons license<\/A>. Cronkite News is produced by the <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkite.asu.edu\/\">Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication<\/A> at <A href=\"https:\/\/www.asu.edu\">Arizona State University<\/A>.<\/EM><HR>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many tribal nations did not have the broadband access needed to apply for the funding that would let them improve broadband access, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs was told.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,20,1,14,22],"tags":[869,42,925,400,386,454,1319,180,2359,2361,24,7,1553,1435,213,91,2047,1434,2378],"class_list":["post-19916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-indian-trust","category-national","category-politics","category-technology","tag-117th","tag-arizona","tag-brian-schatz","tag-colorado","tag-gao","tag-grants","tag-infrastructure","tag-internet","tag-manuel-heart","tag-matthew-rantanen","tag-navajo","tag-ncai","tag-ntia","tag-ntua","tag-scia","tag-senate","tag-ute-mountain-ute","tag-walter-haase","tag-yavapai-apache","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/14\/navajonation.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-5be","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}