Tribal wireless boot camp builds community for broadband

Several nonprofit groups held a “wireless boot camp” for Tribal nations from Northern California, the first in what organizers said will be a series of training sessions for Native American communities seeking to improve their connectivity where commercial internet service providers haven’t. Members of the Yurok Tribe, Hoopa Valley Tribe and Bear River Band met with experts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), the Internet Society and the University of Washington. The gathering, attended by about 20 people, was a chance for tribes that received 2.5 GHz spectrum licenses from the Federal Communications Commission last year to build their technical skills, ask questions and meet knowledgeable wireless broadband experts, according to ILSR broadband initiative leader Christopher Mitchell. The White House in June 2021 announced a $1 billion Tribal broadband program to help the nearly 40 percent of Native American households that lack broadband connections. Many tribes are in rural areas which can face additional challenges getting connected, and rural communities often face confusion and obstacles in paying for broadband even with federal funding.