News Release
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced $74,807,835.47 in grants awarded from the Internet for All initiative to two tribal entities in Montana. National Telecommunications and Information Administration officials announced the grants alongside tribal leaders at an event at the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the grant will expand high-speed internet infrastructure deployment projects through the Internet for All Initiative’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program for the Blackfeet Tribe and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). In all, the projects will connect over 5,400 homes with the high-speed internet connectivity necessary for learning, work, and telehealth.
“We are making an historic investment in Tribal communities to ensure reliable, affordable high-speed Internet for all,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “These grants — made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – underscore President Biden’s commitment to closing the digital divide in the United States, especially within tribal lands. Today’s awards will not only build high-speed Internet capacity within tribal nations, but also bring digital opportunities for good-paying jobs, education, and healthcare.”
“I am pleased to hear that the Blackfeet Tribe was awarded a grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to assist us in our infrastructure efforts to provide quality high-speed internet services to our people on the Blackfeet Reservation. This funding from the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program will help us close the digital divide by replacing the existing antiquated copper-based telephone line system and replace it with high-speed fiber-to-the-home. We are excited that our new tribal telecommunications business, Siyeh Communications, will be building out the infrastructure and create additional jobs and economic opportunities for our tribe and its tribal members for the years to come,” said Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Chairman Scott Kipp.
“The National Telecommunications and Information Administration Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program Grant (TBCP) will be life changing for our reservation community. The CSKT is so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to deliver sustainable carrier neutral broadband services to the 1.3-million-acre Flathead Reservation. The economic impacts of increased broadband services will improve organizational operations to all of our reservation residents. It will strengthen CSKT autonomy and the greater community in a manner that ensures that everyone will have better social services, healthcare, and educational opportunities in the digital age. The TBCP will allow CSKT to bridge the digital divide to underserved areas and strengthen digital equity and enhance our social community through digital literacy. As we look to the future, the 300 miles of fiber optic network will connect remote workers and over 55 anchor institutions, such as libraries, homesites, and other critical essential service institutions,” said Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Tribal Chairman Tom McDonald.
These awards are part of 23 new grants announced today totaling more than $601.6 million to tribal entities. These awards are part of the Biden Administration’s commitment to nation-to-nation engagement and an effort to connect everyone in America, including American Indians and Natives, to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet.
Today’s awards bring the total of the program to $1.35 billion awarded to 94 tribal entities. The funds will be used to invest in high-speed Internet network deployment and digital skills training to improve access to education, jobs, and healthcare on tribal lands.
The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is a nearly $3 billion grant program and part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All Initiative. The funds are made available from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ($980 million) and President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ($2 billion). Additional grants will be announced on a rolling basis this fall. In total, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $65 billion to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet across the country.
A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $1 billion in funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be announced in the coming months. National Telecommunications and Information Administration recently held three Tribal Consultations with tribal leaders to solicit their input on the NOFO.
Internet for All
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes a historic $65 billion investment to expand affordable and reliable high-speed Internet access in communities across the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration recently launched a series of new high-speed Internet grant programs funded by the law that will build high-speed Internet infrastructure across the country, create more low-cost high-speed Internet service options, and address the digital equity and inclusion needs in our communities.
Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying tribal lands. Visit getinternet.gov to learn more.
For more information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s high-speed Internet programs as well as quotes from the awardees, please visit InternetforAll.gov.
