For tribes, crucial broadband grants come with hurdles

However challenging it is to solve the digital divide across the US, it's even harder for Tribal communities. According to a 2021 report from the Federal Communications Commission, 79.1 percent of the population on Tribal lands can access broadband at the minimum speed of 25/3 Mbps. That compares to 82.7 percent of the rural US and 98.8 percent of urban areas. Looking specifically at Tribal lands in the lower 48 states (or, the US minus Alaska and Hawaii), only 67.3 percent have access to 25/3 Mbps broadband. Further, that data shows only 46.5 percent of Tribal populations have adopted broadband service. It's worth noting that those estimates likely undercount the problem by a large margin, given the FCC is still basing its broadband data on flawed and outdated mapping practices. While the FCC was tasked by Congress in 2020 with establishing new broadband maps and data collection processes, it has been slow to get that work rolling. That leaves communities stuck using bad data as they apply for millions of dollars in federal grants. For native communities, that's an extra hurdle on an already burdensome process that often results in tribes getting less than they need.