Alaska-based Tribal entity Dena’ Nena’ Henash topped a list of nine rural broadband funding awardees in the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). The $2.5 million award will be used to complete four fully engineered, environmentally permitted, and shovel-ready fiber broadband network designs.
The nine awards totaling $6.5 million were made through the TBCP Equitable Distribution program. The program, administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), is designed to facilitate broadband connectivity for Tribal communities across the country.
Pueblo of Laguna (based in New Mexico), Barona Group of the Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians (CA), Seldovia Village Tribe (AK), Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) (MA), and Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel (CA) each received a $500,000 award. Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (OK), and Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians (OK) each received awards between $495,000 and $500,000.
Over the next two weeks, the NTIA will offer consultations for Tribal representatives to discuss working relationships as Tribal broadband programs are restructured, helping ensure that future funding aligns with Tribal priorities and perspectives.
The consultations are designed to help explain the progress on reforms, originally announced in November, aimed at streamlining the TBCP and the native entity set-aside under the Digital Equity Act. The goal is to create a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that further supports Tribal access to broadband resources.
“NTIA remains committed to maximizing the impact of our Tribal funding by streamlining programs, reducing red tape, and empowering Tribes to pursue solutions that fit their needs,” Arielle Roth, NTIA administrator and assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, said in a prepared statement.
“Today’s awards are part of our broader effort to ensure universal connectivity across Indian Country.”
