The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) faces a critical juncture. In a letter sent out earlier this week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) estimates that funding for the ACP will only last until April 2024. Without any additional funding, the FCC will have to begin taking steps to end the program. The FCC is requesting $6 billion from Congress to continue the ACP through the end of 2024. Lawmakers in Congress have also introduced a bipartisan and bicameral measure to help extend the ACP that would allocate $7 billion for the program from unused Treasury funding. If the ACP were to end, millions would lose their access to the internet and their ability to participate in modern life. Losing the ACP also undermines the goals of other programs like the $42.45 BEAD Program and the overall effort to close the digital divide.
Cell tower overlooking the forest.
Bridging the digital divide on tribal lands

Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty

The American Indian Policy Institute (AIPI) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), based on a long-standing commitment to bridging the digital divide on tribal lands, founded and formed the Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.


 Tribal Digital Sovereignty is the umbrella term that encompasses the exercise of sovereign authority over physical and virtual network infrastructure and the intangible, virtual digital jurisdictional aspects of the acquisition, storage, transmission, access, and use of data, including policy developments that impact a Tribal Nation's digital footprint in both real-world and virtual spaces. Tribal Digital Sovereignty encompasses all aspects of a Tribal Nation’s digital plan and footprint, such as Tribal codes, managing data protection, digital equity, network infrastructure, development of funding sources, education, healthcare, public safety and law enforcement, economic and community development, and capacity building.

National Congress of American Indians NC-24-008 Supporting Tribal Digital Sovereignty as an Exercise of Self-Determination
A group of hands stacked on top of each other.

Mission

The Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty provides research and scholarship, capacity building, and a coalition of expert community-serving organizations with long histories of working in this space, creating a gravitas of service as an open-source information resource and clearinghouse for Tribal nations on Tribal Digital Sovereignty planning.

About

The Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty (CTDS) is the first and only center in the Nation dedicated to assisting Tribal governments, leadership, and communities in understanding the complexities of digital sovereignty, providing access to resources and serving as a clearinghouse for Tribal digital sovereignty.

Federal Broadband data

The TDS Center has four goals:

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