Pawhuska, Okla. — Local, tribal and national leaders gathered in Pawhuska on March 4 to break ground on a project that will bring high-speed internet to Osage Nation communities.
The project cost $40.6 million and is funded through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.
National Telecommunications Information Administration
“This will change our communities for the better on many levels, including education, social connections, health services, and collaboration with our local communities and communities around the world,” said Chief Geoffrey. Mr. Standing Bear said.
It’s all part of the Biden-Harris administration’s “Internet for All” initiative, which aims to ensure everyone in the United States has access to reliable, high-speed internet.
“We have broken ground on a project to install fiber-optic cable and build wireless towers to directly connect more than 3,000 unserved households in the Osage Nation,” said Commerce Department Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information. said Alan Davidson. “This $40 million project will expand access to education and health care, support smart technology for agriculture, and create construction and broadband jobs.”
Crews will install more than 320 miles of high-speed fiber optic cable and 16 fixed Wi-Fi towers throughout Osage County.
Providing internet to all Oklahomans is not unique to the Osage Nation. Tribes like the Cherokee Nation also support similar projects on their reservations.
$80 million investment in broadband and cell phone services for the Cherokee Nation
“High-speed internet is like water,” said Tom Perez, a senior adviser to President Biden. “This is a critical public necessity, and it must be affordable and accessible to everyone. That’s why the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to support communities across the country, especially those in rural areas and the Osage Nation that have been so often left behind. We have invested $90 billion to ensure that tribal nations can connect to the pipeline of opportunity that a reliable internet provides.”
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