Photo: Liza Summer | Pexels
With growing state and federal backing, tribal communities are crafting a connected future in which they control their digital destiny, especially as the pandemic made clear the need to solve the existing digital gap. Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, and Oregon passed laws in 2023 to streamline funding for broadband expansion, with a focus on underserved communities, including tribes. California is committed to provide equal broadband access to all residents. Hopi Telecommunications, which provides internet and telephone service on the Hopi Reservation in northeast Arizona, has received federal subsidies to install fiber optic lines directly into homes by 2025. Tribal Ready, a Native-owned and governed organization, aims to give tribes the ability to control broadband in the same way they regulate other public utilities.
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