Opening Remarks Of Chairman Ajit Pai At The National Congress Of American Indians Executive Council Winter Session

Increasing access to broadband and other telecommunications services in rural areas, including on Tribal lands, has been one of my top priorities. The good news is that the percentage of Americans living on Tribal lands who lack access to high-speed broadband has been cut in half since I arrived at the Federal Communications Commission in 2012. The bad news is that that percentage is still over four times higher than for the overall US population.

The FCC has worked closely with Tribal governments over the past year, pursuant to our government-to-government relationship. I personally have made trips across the country and met here in Washington with Tribal leaders, and my office and our agency’s staff have continued that outreach in a variety of formats. We want to make sure Tribal interests are heard as we aim to get all Americans connected.

Before I close, I want to highlight a significant call to action the FCC made [Feb 8], when we issued a Public Notice announcing the renewal of what we call the Native Nations Communications Task Force and seeking member nominations. I’m grateful to the Tribal officials who have served on the Task Force in the past and encourage you to submit nominations from your Tribes to serve on the latest iteration.