{"id":559623,"date":"2018-04-09T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2018-04-09T14:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=559623"},"modified":"2018-04-18T21:05:01","modified_gmt":"2018-04-19T03:05:01","slug":"tribes-lead-the-way-for-faster-internet-access-in-nm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/04\/tribes-lead-the-way-for-faster-internet-access-in-nm\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribes lead the way for faster internet access in NM"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IkovZNNLz4I\" width=\"771\" height=\"433\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>COCHITI PUEBLO, NM \u2013 For decades in these sparsely populated valleys and peaks in Northern New Mexico, the internet has been slow, unreliable and expensive. This region is not remote, exactly. Several small tribal communities are nestled a half hour\u2019s drive from the state seat in Santa Fe and the same distance from Albuquerque, the state\u2019s largest city. But most cell phone service drops conspicuously between the two urban centers, and internet connections are elusive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re so close to the capital,\u201d Cochiti Pueblo education director Kevin Lewis said. \u201cAnd yet so divided digitally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, tribal lands have some of the lowest internet access rates of any demographic. According to the Federal Communications Commission, 41 percent of people living on tribal lands in the U.S. lack access to high-speed internet. In rural areas on tribal lands, 68 percent don\u2019t have access.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article\u00a0is part of the State of Change project, a multi-newsroom examination of\u00a0the challenge of building resilient rural communities \u2014 and what some\u00a0in New Mexico are doing right.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/series\/state-of-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Listen to this story<\/h3>\n<p>Listen to a version of this story from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nativenews.net\/state-of-change-tribal-digital-divide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Native News<\/a>:<\/p>\n<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-559623-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Tribal-Broadband-story-for-web.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Tribal-Broadband-story-for-web.mp3\">http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Tribal-Broadband-story-for-web.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Lewis\u2019s community, however, is an outlier. Today, Cochiti Pueblo and three others are just feet away from completing a $4.2 million, 32-mile line of fiber-optic cables. The project will connect tribal libraries across the four communities at a fraction of the price internet service has cost until now. The Middle Rio Grande Pueblo Tribal Consortium, the group leading the project, is one of a growing number of tribally led broadband internet initiatives in the U.S., and one of few collaborative projects that allow rural tribes to aggregate demand and negotiate lower prices.<\/p>\n<p>Though this community\u2019s sojourn into modern day technology is far from perfect \u2014 this network connects libraries, but leaves hospitals and homes lacking, for instance \u2014 internet researchers say few other tribal nations have achieved the same level of cooperation across multiple sovereign governments.<\/p>\n<p>Their story of navigating federal funding streams and building consensus to launch their own internet network could chart a path for other rural communities seeking the same.<\/p>\n<h3>Libraries as backbone<\/h3>\n<p>In more ways than one, libraries are a backbone for New Mexico\u2019s rural communities. On the four pueblos involved in the Middle Rio Grande consortium \u2013 Cochiti, Santo Domingo, Santa Ana and San Felipe \u2013 it\u2019s not uncommon to see a troupe of cars parked in library parking lots after dark, screens aglow, drivers downloading files for homework or streaming movies. Nearly half of all tribal libraries are their community\u2019s only source of free public internet access, according to the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.atalm.org\/sites\/default\/files\/ATALM%20E-Rate%20Brief.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNighttime parking lot WiFi is an infrastructure in our state,\u201d said Kimball Sekaquaptewa, the New Mexico-based manager of tribal critical infrastructure at a tribally owned insurance provider, AMERIND Risk.<\/p>\n<p>Such after-hours access was an imperfect solution, though, and the connections the libraries offered were glacial. For Lewis and the Cochiti Pueblo, internet bills crept upwards of $1,500 a month for a connection that didn\u2019t even meet the federal definition of \u201chigh speed.\u201d When one person uses the internet connection to livestream a distance learning class online at Cochiti Pueblo\u2019s library, no one else can use the internet, Lewis said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_559632\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-559632\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Kevin-771x434.jpg\" alt=\"Kevin Lewis\" width=\"771\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Kevin-771x434.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Kevin-336x189.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Kevin-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Kevin-1170x658.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Kevin.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">New Mexico PBS<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Every time someone logs on to a distance learning class online at the Pueblo of Cochiti Library, tribal education director Kevin Lewis must make sure no one else is using the internet.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But traditional internet service providers weren\u2019t doing these sparse communities any favors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur patron base was too small,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cWho wants to spend $4 million on a network to pick up 75 customers at Cochiti?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a problem many rural communities \u2013 whether tribal or not \u2013 face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe market is simply failing a lot of communities, and a lot of those communities are Indigenous, whether it be Alaska or Canada, or South Dakota, or very small, rural communities where the return on investment for companies to go in and build infrastructure is just not there,\u201d said Mark Buell, the North American bureau director for the Internet Society, an international organization that studies and advocates for internet-related issues. \u201cThere, the network solution is driven by community. Often not for profit, but not necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the Middle Rio Grande consortium chased funding for a fiber-optic connection, widely considered the fastest available, other tribes have used wireless technology, including <a href=\"https:\/\/sctdv.net\/about-tdv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a network launched by the Southern California Tribal Chairmen\u2019s Association<\/a>. Still other rural places have turned to municipally owned networks and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/04\/how-a-rural-electric-co-op-connected-a-community\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rural electric cooperatives to build high-speed networks<\/a>, sometimes with massive federal grants, other times with loans the co-op will pay back over time as the internet service expands.<\/p>\n<p>When the Albuquerque-area tribes teamed up, they aggregated demand across the four tribal communities to apply together for federal funding available to pay for infrastructure for rural communities seeking to connect schools and libraries. The program, called E-rate, has been around since the late 1990s, and while it has helped more than six out of 10 public libraries in the U.S. get discounted internet service and technology, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usac.org\/_res\/documents\/sl\/training\/2016\/tribal\/ATALM-Presentation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">only 15 percent of tribal libraries have used the program<\/a>. Roughly $3.9 million of the $4.2 million price tag on fiber construction to the four New Mexico pueblos comes from the E-rate program, the largest E-rate award in the state in 2016. The rest will come from local matches.<\/p>\n<p>Sekaquaptewa and Lewis, both members of Cochiti Pueblo, visited tribal councils, talking with tribal leaders and building consensus among elders. The going was slow at first, and weekly project meetings slated for one hour started lasting two or three.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_559629\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-559629\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Everett-771x434.jpg\" alt=\"Everett Chavez\" width=\"771\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Everett-771x434.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Everett-336x189.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Everett-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Everett-1170x658.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Everett.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">New Mexico PBS<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Everett Chavez, the tribal programs administrator and a former governor for Santo Domingo Pueblo, said the new fiber-optic internet network launched by the Middle Rio Grande Pueblo Tribal Consortium will improve education access for younger generations.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For Everett Chavez, administrator of tribal programs and a three-time former governor of Santo Domingo Pueblo, the internet project wasn\u2019t a tough sell. Chavez doesn\u2019t have a home internet connection, but he knows its importance; his son drives to the top of a nearby hill to download documents for school using a cellphone hot spot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an equity issue for us,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cEducation is something the pueblo has promoted, and we\u2019re proud of that.\u201d Teachers regularly assign homework that involves an internet connection, and Lewis says more students would sign up for online higher education or high school equivalency classes if the libraries could accommodate them.<\/p>\n<p>The path to laying fiber in the ground wasn\u2019t perfect for this group. Navigating federal regulations on how subsidies can and can\u2019t be used and keeping track of deadlines was tough. \u201cHard deadlines are hard deadlines. We learned that really quick,\u201d Lewis said. The group has spent more time than they anticipated shepherding the infrastructure work, cutting into valuable time that could be spent devising a plan for service delivery, he said.<\/p>\n<p>And the federal E-rate program itself isn\u2019t perfect. Confusing paperwork can lead to denials. Applications can linger in red tape. More than two dozen projects waited nearly a year for a decision, according to research compiled by EducationSuperHighway, a nonprofit that advocates for better internet access in schools. According to their analysis,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/delaysanddenials.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">three New Mexico school districts\u2019 applications have been unfairly denied<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Locally, too, bureaucracy proved challenging.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBureaucracy is our biggest problem,\u201d Gar Clarke, broadband program manager for the New Mexico Department of Information Technology, said at a recent gathering of the New Mexico chapter of the Internet Society. \u201cIf you\u2019re a school and you apply, you can\u2019t light up the health care clinic next door.\u201d The state has hired an E-rate specialist to help any public school on tribal lands \u2014 but that doesn\u2019t include all Bureau of Indian Education schools. Chavez said a Bureau of Indian Affairs school on San Felipe Pueblo won\u2019t be connected to this fiber-optic system, for instance, because it doesn\u2019t qualify as \u201cpublic\u201d under federal standards.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_559633\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-559633\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Lines01-771x443.jpg\" alt=\"Fiber optic lines\" width=\"771\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Lines01-771x443.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Lines01-336x193.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Lines01-768x441.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Lines01-1170x672.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Lines01.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">New Mexico PBS<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crews install the final stages of a new fiber-optic internet network across four tribal nations in Northern New Mexico.<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>What\u2019s next?<\/h3>\n<p>For now, the group of library directors and others running the project meets once a week, going over construction updates and redesigning construction paths and budgets when necessary ahead of a planned June launch. The Internet Society is studying how the group\u2019s efforts could be replicated elsewhere, and consortium members like Lewis and Sekaquaptewa are regular speakers at rural internet gatherings, wanting to export what they\u2019ve learned to other rural and Indigenous communities.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Buell, the Internet Society researcher, says three factors contribute to the success or failure of a community network like the tribes\u2019: technology, governance and a business model that will last. No one model is right for every network. Many governance models will work, Buell said. It\u2019s about finding the one that\u2019s right for each community and regulatory environment. Some tribal networks are more market-oriented and capitalistic; others prioritize more traditional decision-making models.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey need to reflect communities\u2019 priorities from governance structures all the way down to who\u2019s deploying the technology,\u201d Buell said. \u201cIt\u2019s the same no matter where you go. If it\u2019s driven by the community, it\u2019s much more likely to succeed in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Challenges remain for the tribal internet consortium, mostly when it comes to sustaining and expanding the internet service. Chavez met recently with New Mexico\u2019s U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, to push a bill that would expand the federal E-rate program to include other anchor institutions in the community, like hospitals and tribal governments, not just schools and libraries. \u201cRight now the focus is too narrow,\u201d Chavez said. Extending broadband internet infrastructure to homes would have economic benefits, too, by connecting local artists to a larger market, he said.<\/p>\n<p>And besides having the expertise needed to navigate complicated right-of-way and inter-governmental issues, for Chavez, there was a bigger reason why it was crucial the tribes lead the effort.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was important the first players were the tribes, in selling this to our councils,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cWhen we talk about sovereignty\u2026 we can\u2019t just talk sovereign, we\u2019ve got to act sovereign.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Across sovereign governments, a group of Southwest tribes prepares to launch their own network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":559633,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[118,709,238],"class_list":["post-559623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-economy","tag-native-americans","tag-technology","series-state-of-change"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}