Tribal Broadband

Updated 02/22/2022: Broadband is critical for Indian Country, but it is often unavailable. In 2019, the American Indian Policy Institute (AIPI) found that 18 percent of Tribal reservation residents have no Internet access, while 33 percent rely on smartphones for Internet service. Even where broadband is available, the cost can be a barrier to access. It is crucial that Tribal communities have broadband access for education, work, and healthcare, all of which will be more accessible via the Affordable Connectivity Program.

The Affordable Connectivity Program  provides benefits for a single Internet connection per home and will allow eligible households to receive a monthly discount on broadband access from their Internet provider. The provider may also offer broadband devices at a discount. It is important to check with your provider to see if they are participating. The program is now accepting applications, with participating providers. Also, be sure to keep checking with your Internet service provider for more information.

Apply at ACPbenefit.org

Arizona Commerce Authority Broadband Resources

This page has information on grants, resources, and upcoming workshops

Grant Opportunities

Information on the Arizona Rural Broadband Deployment Grants, the Broadband Infrastructure Program, and other grant opportunities.

Arizona Department of Education Digital Divide White Paper

This details the inequities in broadband access for rural schoolchildren attempting distance learning.

Broadband Now

This website provides information on broadband availability across the U.S.

Tribes must exercise their sovereign right to access and utilize this natural resource. Spectrum frequencies are finite and as the internet and technology continues to permeate every life these frequencies will be obtained and held onto by industry because of its intrinsic value. The federal government, as trustee to Tribal Nations, must also understand and address the historical and present-day barriers that prevent tribal participation in spectrum auctions and the inability of tribes to access spectrum through secondary market mechanisms. Providing tribes with access to spectrum licenses provides an opportunity for tribes to construct their own wireless networks or leverage the license to attract service providers to bring telecommunications services to tribal lands for the benefit of their communities and economies.

Printable document on Spectrum Sovereignty and 2.5 GHz.

Interactive Map of Projects Funded by the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program

The deadline for submission has now passed, but there will be future funding opportunities through this program.

 The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) held a TBCP webinar on August 24, 2021, in which they highlighted the following points:

• Make sure that applications uploaded to grants.gov are submitted. You must go into the system and hit the submit button.

• There may be a possibility for other forms of submission, but you must contact NTIA ASAP.

• Applications that may not be perfect but still contain all of the required information should still be submitted. Applications can still be cured after the deadline, but they first must be submitted in time.

• Please visit NTIA’s TBCP website and the TBCP NOFO for technical guidance on how to complete and submit applications, as well as NTIA contact information.

On June 3, 2021, the NTIA announced the TBCP. The program is meant to provide grants to assist Tribes to build broadband infrastructure, promote digital inclusion and literacy, and also help to establish affordability programs. Please see our earlier work on the TBCP and our Tribal Technology Assessment for more information on the digital divide in Tribal communities.

Internet Society Indigenous Connectivity Community Network Trainings

ILSR List of Indigenous Broadband Networks

ILSR “Indigenous Future Zones” Report on Tribal Broadband (Feb. 2021)