Dropped Zoom calls during Tribal Council meetings and students doing homework in parking lot hot spots are some of the results of outdated internet service in Towaoc, the capital of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Southwest Colorado.
To help upgrade to high-speed broadband, the tribe was awarded a $3.2 million grant this month from the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The funding will be used to install fiber-optic lines from Towaoc to Cortez to access high-speed broadband, said Bernadette Cuthair, director of Planning and Development for the tribe, in an interview with The Journal Monday.
“This first step is immensely important for the tribe to stay connected and not be left behind,” she said. “Like many rural communities, we don’t have the capital to make it happen, so this support is greatly appreciated.”
Additional grants are being sought to help connect buildings to the new broadband service, she said.
High speed internet will increase access to distance learning and telemedicine, improve tribal government operations, help students — including at the new Kwiyagat Community Academy — and open up business opportunities.
The investment is expected to create 33 jobs and generate $550,000 in private investment. A request for proposals will be issued for the project, and construction is expected to begin in spring or summer, Cuthair said.
“Too many Americans, especially those living on reservations and in tribal communities, lack reliable, high-speed broadband — if they are even lucky enough to have internet at all,” said Gina M. Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, in a news release. “In our increasingly interconnected world, internet is not a luxury, it is a necessity, and this basic lack of access is an injustice.”
Internet access means more than just opening emails and checking social media, Raimondo said.
“It means having access to lifesaving technologies, economic opportunities, remote learning and countless other essential benefits,” she said in the news release.
The broadband funding was provided by President Joe Biden’s recently passed infrastructure bill.
This law provides $65 billion to expand broadband in communities across the U.S., with $48 billion being allocated to the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration to create low-cost broadband service options, subsidize the cost of service for low-income households and address the digital equity and inclusion needs in our communities.
The project will help deliver improved internet access for the residents and businesses on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation, including the Ute Mountain Casino. Indian Health Services, and Behavioral Health also will benefit, as will tribal government departments.
Internet upgrades are needed for the tribe, Cuthair said.
“It kind of embarrassing when the tribe is in an important Zoom meeting and gets dropped from the call. We miss information when the connection wavers in and out,” Cuthair said. “Our internet service can be very slow during certain times of the day. Sometimes it just times-out because everybody is logged on.”
With more remote learning because the pandemic, the connection to the internet has become even more essential for students on the reservation.
The tribe has set up hot spots in Towaoc parking lots so that students could go online to complete homework.
“It is not an ideal situation for learning,” Cuthair said.
This improvement project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Organization in cooperation with U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper of Colorado and the Department of Commerce.
“Investing in reliable internet access for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe will expand economic development, strengthen health care access and improve children’s education,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper in the news release.
This month, the Commerce Department also issued grants as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. The grants, totaling nearly $1 million, were awarded to the Yavapai-Apache Nation in Arizona and the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in Wisconsin.
“Affordable, high-speed broadband is essential to help families work, learn, and participate in modern society. But far too often, tribal communities in Colorado and across the country lack access,” stated Bennet in the news release.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
