Tribal broadband access to be improved

Tribal Broadband access overview:

• Who: The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office issued a report with recommendations for the federal government.
• Why: The GAO found the government can make improvements for tribal broadband access.
• Where: The GAO recommends the government make changes nationwide. 

A new report from the Government Accountability Office found that tribal lands do not benefit equally from federal funding for broadband access and recommends that the federal government “specifically address tribal needs within a national broadband strategy.”

Although broadband access for people living on tribal lands increased from 2015 to 2020 thanks to federal funding, their access “continues to lag behind the rest of the country,” according to the report, which follows an investigation into the federal government’s attempts to expand tribal broadband access initiated by Congress. 

In order to make improvements, the GAO made two recommendations: that the Executive Office of the President (EOP) “should specifically address tribal needs within a national broadband strategy,” and that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Department of Commerce “create a framework within the American Broadband Initiative for addressing tribal issues.”

The EOP has neither agreed nor disagreed with the recommendations, while the Department of Commerce agreed “in part.” 

Tribes face ‘persistent barriers’ to broadband access

“Conservative estimates show more than 18 percent of people living on tribal lands remain unserved by broadband as of 2020, compared to about 4 percent of people in non-tribal areas,” the GAO report found.

The GAO pointed to three “persistent barriers” that “limit tribes’ and providers’ ability and interest in participating in federal broadband programs.” 

One such barrier is the fragmentation of federal programs, which prevents tribal leaders and broadband providers from knowing which programs they qualify for.

A second barrier is “complex application processes” needed to enroll in federal programs which discourages participation, according to the report. Many applicants even need to hire paid consultants to make their way through the applications since “most tribes do not have the

expertise in house to build and maintain their own broadband network.” However, hiring a consultant does not guarantee their application will be approved.

The third main barrier to tribal broadband access is the requirement for “matching or upfront funding” for some federal broadband programs. 

“Two tribal stakeholders said it was a challenge for tribes to participate in programs that had those requirements,” the GAO reports. “Similarly, the requirement for upfront funding deterred two tribally-owned providers we spoke to from pursuing federal broadband funding programs.”

The report included an example of one tribally owned provider that spent about $650,000 upfront to meet engineering requirements to apply for a $9 million loan. Tribal officials also told the GAO “the high costs of applying meant they avoid programs with smaller amounts of funding available.”

What do you think about the GAO’s tribal broadband access recommendations? Sound off in the comments section below.

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