[1st-mile-nm] Udall Advocates for Telecom Infrastructure to Spur Economic Growth on Tribal Lands

[Richard Lowenberg]

 From: Tom Udall Press Office
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 6:23 PM
To: Tom Udall Press Office
Subject: Udall Advocates for Telecom Infrastructure to Spur Economic 
Growth on Tribal Lands


For Immediate Release
March 20, 2013
Contact:  Marissa Padilla
202.228.6870 | news at tomudall.senate.gov |@TomUdallPress


Udall Advocates for Telecom Infrastructure to Spur Economic Growth on 
Tribal Lands


WASHINGTON –  U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) spoke the at the Federal 
Communications Commission today to highlight efforts to improve 
engagement with tribes and tackle the digital divide in Indian Country. 
Udall has worked closely with the FCC to expand their outreach and 
address the lack of basic telecommunications services for Native 
American communities.

The meeting coincided with the release of the Office of Native Affairs 
and Policy (ONAP) 2012 report, which details the Commission’s engagement 
with more than 400 Tribal Nations and travel to 42 federal Indian 
Reservations since the Office’s inception in the summer of 2010.

Click here for photos from the event.

"Today's report exemplifies how the FCC is making strides to expand 
communications services for Native Americans to harness new technologies 
and improve economic development, education and access to health care," 
said Udall, a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. “I want 
to thank Chairman Genachowski, the Commission and Geoff Blackwell for 
their commitment to ensuring the first Americans receive the services 
their communities desperately need and I look forward to working 
together to continue building on these important efforts."

"Tribal Nations have not always had a seat at the table. But thanks to 
our efforts, the full involvement of Tribal Nations is now recognized as 
key to unlocking the digital divide on their lands," said Chairman 
Genachowski. "Senator Udall is one of the reasons ONAP exists, and I am 
honored that he was here today to celebrate all the work the Commission 
has been able to do since ONAP's founding. The work is not done, and I 
look forward to working in concert both with Tribal Nations and the 
industry to create greater opportunities and incentives for Native 
communities."

At the agency's regular open meeting, Geoffrey C. Blackwell, Chief of 
ONAP, outlined several Commission accomplishments with respect to Tribal 
Nations in a presentation to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and the 
other Commissioners. Blackwell spoke of the important exercise of the 
government-to-government relationship that the Commission shares with 
Tribal Nations through agency consultation and coordination on the 
ground with Tribal leaders in Indian Country. His presentation 
summarized highlights from ONAP’s 2012 Annual Report, as well as several 
case studies of Tribal Nations with whom the Commission is working. The 
ONAP 2012 Report is available at 
http://www.fcc.gov/topic/native-nations.

The ONAP report discusses the progress that the Commission has made in 
closing the digital divide in Indian Country, and spells out how that 
progress will continue in the years to come, through the consultation 
efforts of the entire agency and the involvement and contributions of 
staff and managers of the Bureaus and Offices across the Commission.

In October 2009, Udall sent a letter to Chairman Genachowski urging him 
to address lack of basic telecommunications services on Indian lands. 
ONAP was created by unanimous Commission vote in July 2010 in response a 
recommendation in the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, which recognized 
that the lack of basic and advanced communications services on Tribal 
lands leaves Tribal members with less access to telecommunications 
services than any other segment of the population.

ONAP’s work with Tribes is focused on bringing modern communications 
infrastructure and the resulting benefits to Tribal Nations and Native 
communities throughout the United States. ONAP is responsible for 
developing and driving a Commission-wide Tribal agenda and ensuring 
Tribal voices are taken into account in Commission proceedings.


#######


--------------------------------
Richard Lowenberg, Executive Dir.
1st-Mile Institute, 505-603-5200
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
www.1st-mile.com  rl at 1st-mile.com
--------------------------------