Tribes to receive $41.5M to expand high-speed internet

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will receive more than $41.5 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand high-speed internet access on the Flathead Reservation. The announcement was made last week at tribal headquarters in Pablo during a presentation that included officials from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

CSKT Tribal Chairman Tom McDonald called the grant “life changing for our reservation community.”

Leaders from the Blackfeet Tribe, which was awarded just over $33 million, also attended the event. Both awards are part of the latest round of federal Internet for All grants, aimed at boosting internet connectivity.

According to a press release, the project aims to install fiber and wireless access to directly connect 927 tribal households, 35 tribal businesses, and 22 tribal community institutions that are currently without highspeed internet. The speedy new service will deliver a minimum of 30 Mbps/5 Mbps and up to one Gbps for qualifying broadband service.

According to McDonald, the 300 miles of fiber optic cable, spanning the 1.3-million-acre reservation, will connect remote workers and over 55 anchor institutions, such as libraries, homesites, and other critical essential service institutions.

The increased broadband services promise to strengthen CSKT autonomy, he said, and “ensure that everyone will have better social services, healthcare, and educational opportunities in the digital age.”

Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Chairman Scott Kipp was also on hand for the announcement and said the funding would help replace the existing antiquated copper-based telephone line system “with high-speed fiber-to-the-home.” He noted that the new tribal telecommunications business, Siyeh Communications, will build out the infrastructure, which creates additional jobs and economic opportunities for tribal members.

So far, the program has awarded $1.35 billion to 94 tribal entities in an effort to “close the digital divide in the United States, especially within tribal lands,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “These awards will not only build high-speed internet capacity within Tribal Nations, but also bring digital opportunities for good-paying jobs, education and healthcare.”

Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) 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 getinternet.gov to learn more.

For more information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s high-speed Internet programs visit InternetforAll.gov.