10.13.22

Cantwell Announces $64.3 Million for Colville and Lummi Tribes to Expand Access to High-Speed Internet on Tribal Lands

NTIA Grants funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will connect over 5,100 Tribal homes to high-speed internet in Washington state

Photos of Sen. Cantwell and Lummi Chairman William Jones Jr. are available HERE

LUMMI NATION  – While on a tour of the Lummi Tribal Health Center with Chairman William Jones Jr., members of the Lummi Business Council, and Lummi Tribe staff, Sen. Cantwell announced Tuesday that more than $64.3 million in grants from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) were awarded to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Lummi Nation. These grants comes from President Biden’s Internet for All Initiative, which was funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“Finally, needed broadband access will get to our rural Tribal communities. With over $15 million, the Lummi Nation will be able to implement its fiber-to-the-home project that will provide fiber to ALL Tribal homes and businesses,” said Sen. Cantwell. “The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have received over $48 million, one of the largest awards, to build out broadband to the communities of Inchelium and Keller, rural communities that are in desperate need of connectivity.”  

Of the total $64.3 million, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation received $48,405,830.78 to install fiber directly connecting 2,867 unserved Native American households with qualifying broadband with the following speeds; Fiber: 1 Gbps symmetrical; wireless: 300/30 Mbps.

Lummi Nation received $15,942,129.05 to install fiber directly connecting 2,273 unserved Native American households, 193 Tribal businesses, and 23 anchor institutions (such as schools and police stations) with 1 Gbps symmetrical speeds. 

“The Lummi Nation is truly grateful to be receiving this Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program award as it will open so many doors for greater opportunities for the Lummi Nation. Broadband is the future of Economic Development, Health, Education, Public Safety, and Governance for all our Lummi People. The capacity to connect to high-speed internet will allow our tribal members the ability to engage in our forever growing technology,” said Lummi Indian Business Council Chairman William Jones Jr.

“In the modern world, internet access is critical. It is especially vital for our youth and their education. It has long been a goal of the Colville Tribes to establish quality internet services for all residents of the Reservation. The grant we accepted today is a big step toward connectivity throughout the Reservation, and we will continue working to provide the best possible service for everyone,” said Colville Business Council Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson.

These awards are part of 23 new grants announced today totaling more than $601.6 million to tribal entities. 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 Internet for All Initiative. The funds are made available from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ($980 million) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ($2 billion). 

A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $1 billion in funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be announced in the coming months. For more information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s high-speed Internet programs as well as quotes from the awardees, go to InternetforAll.gov.

###