Department of Commerce Awards Nearly $1.2 Million to Tribes to Expand Internet Access

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it has awarded four grants as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. These grants, part of President Biden's commitment to ensuring all Americans have access to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet, total nearly $1.2 million and are being awarded in three states – California, Washington, and Wisconsin.  These grants will fund broadband infrastructure deployment projects to expand internet access to the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians (CA), Forest County Potawatomi Community (WI), Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe (WA), and the St. Croix Chippewa Indians (WI). The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, which was funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, makes $980 million available for grants to eligible Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian entities for broadband deployment, digital inclusion, workforce development, telehealth, and distance learning. President Biden’s recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides an additional $2 billion in funding for this program.