[1st-mile-nm] Indian Country left on far side of digital divide

[Richard Lowenberg]

Indian Country left on far side of digital divide

http://www.navajotimes.com/news/2013/0413/040413dig.php

By Alysa Landry
For Navajo Times

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2013

If you're climbing to the tops of hills in search of cell phone service 
on the Navajo Nation, you're not alone.

Only 53 percent of Navajoland has wireless broadband coverage through 
3G wireless technology, according to a new report from the Office of 
Native Affairs and Policy and the Federal Communications Commission. 
Wireless broadband provides mobile voice and Internet services. 
Nationwide coverage for 3G wireless technology is higher than 98 
percent.

Jokes abound on the reservation, which consistently ranks staggeringly 
low in access to wireless Internet and cell phone services.

The Navajo phrase for cell phone is "bil n'joobal'," or "something you 
use while spinning around in circles."

The phrase is based on the description of someone spinning around with 
a phone, trying to get good reception.

Navajo also use the phrase "hooghan bik bil dahjilwo" to describe a 
cell phone, or "something you use when you run up the hill."

For the 63 percent of the Navajo population that doesn't have cell 
phones, however, the digital divide is even wider. The report, released 
March 19, is further evidence that Indian Country lags behind as the 
world races into the future of communications.

"By virtually any measure, communities of tribal lands have 
historically had less access to telecommunications services than any 
other segment of the population," the report states. "The lack of robust 
communications services presents serious impediments to tribal nations' 
efforts to preserve their cultures and build their internal structures."

A $46 million broadband project now in its final stages is expected to 
drastically improve digital communication on the 27,000-square-mile 
reservation.

Funded in part by a $32 million grant from the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act, the project will connect 30,000 households and 1,000 
businesses in 15 of the largest communities, including Window Rock, 
Kayenta, Shiprock, Chinle and Tuba City.

That's more than 135,000 more people on the grid and an additional 
15,000 square miles connected to the wireless network, according to 
estimates from Navajo Tribal Utility Authority Wireless, the first 
broadband company of which the Navajo Nation is a majority owner.

The venture is a joint effort between NTUA and Commnet Wireless, said 
Deenise Becenti, a spokeswoman for NTUA, which owns 51 percent of the 
company.

The project began three years ago with plans to extend existing 
broadband services for 530 miles. Construction plans called for the 
installation of 96 strands of aerial fiber optic cable and 33 new 
microwave tower sites.

"This is an extremely robust project," said Michael Scully, general 
manager for NTUA Wireless. "It's exciting for a rural area like the 
Navajo Nation."

NTUA Wireless in February was granted a six-month extension for the 
project, Scully said. He hopes to complete the project "well before the 
new deadline."

"We're trying to get it done as quickly as we can," he said. "Much of 
the project is complete."



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