“One thing that has gotten better is the awareness of what is going on in tribal communities all across the U.S. and everywhere else,” Rob Griffin, tribal broadband director for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, said during a June 11 panel on the broadband divide in Native American communities. The event was part of the weekly Broadband Breakfast podcast.
“I think what we’ll see is these tribal Internet service providers will become more competitive in their regions. And you’ll just see them get better and better,” he said.
Tribal areas have historically been some of the least connected communities in the United States. An April 2024 study produced by the Vernonburg Group found Native Americans “have by far the worst access to fixed broadband service,” with only 54 percent of the population having access to high-speed Internet. In the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma a 2016 feasibility study showed 40 percent of the tribal nation uncovered by high-speed broadband, Griffin said.
“When I say no coverage, I literally mean very little coverage, even by satellite,” Griffin said.
To address this disparity, officials have called for the development of tribal-owned open-access networks, where multiple Internet service providers (ISPs) can offer service to residents.
“I think it’s really key, especially with grant funding, the ownership of the infrastructure stays with the tribes,” Isak Finer, chief revenue officer at COS Systems, a maker of broadband infrastructure technology, said during the panel.
“If you build your own infrastructure, then you control it. And that is key, I think,” Finer said, as he advocated for an “open-access network, where you can have another party come in and do the operations for you. You could invite other ISPs to provide services.”
Mike Edl, vice president of operations at the Bonfire Infrastructure Group, pointed to the company’s partnership with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Ignacio, Colo., to help the tribe secure broadband funding to construct the middle-mile network. In this case, Bonfire Infrastructure operates the tribe-owned network.
“All the assets are tribal assets. We are just the builders of those assets. All title belongs to the tribe,” Edl said during the panel, indicating the Ute tribe was able to secure about $40 million in grant funding to aid in building out the network.
Never far from the conversation around broadband is the technology used to develop the infrastructure. Tribe and tech officials continue to lean toward fiber technology, given its fast speeds and reliability, compared to other technologies like fixed-wireless.
“Fiber-first is what the tribe wants,” Edl said, acknowledging the challenges and high cost of deploying fiber across rural, often-difficult terrain.
“Are there gaps that you have where fixed wireless is a good solution. We think so, particularly if they’re fiber-fed,” he said. “If the base stations are fiber-fed, you can get some pretty good speeds, depending on distance, and the remote nodes, and whatever system you want to use to fill gaps.”
A fiber-first technology posture has been the North Star for the $42 billion federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) to help build out broadband in unserved areas. The program is part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a signature piece of domestic policy legislation from President Joe Biden’s administration.
The new Trump administration’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration recently released new guidance on BEAD removing the fiber-preference requirement, and smoothing the deployment of other technologies like “terrestrial wireless and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services,” according to the guidance.
Wireless technologies may be cheaper in the near term but require frequent upgrades and maintenance, Keith Ponton, director of global telecoms and media cabinet leader at Arcadis, said during the event.
“From a total cost of ownership perspective, they start to neutralize some of the perceived high cost of building in very rugged terrain,” Ponton said, noting investing in broadband infrastructure is not only a strategy for improving the quality of life for tribal residents, but an economic development strategy.
“It’s an economic development path that enables local remote jobs, digital jobs, typically higher-paying jobs than what people might experience without Internet,” Ponton said. “It’s a business attraction and retention tool.”
