Installation or upgrade of the antenna and cables that link up homes and businesses is only part of the story. The "middle mile" is the infrastructure that small networks need to feed their data into. Updating the local exchange in Browning and hooking it up to a carrier hub would be required for the Blackfeet.
Matthew Rantanen is cochairman of the National Congress of American Indians. There are thousands of missing miles in the Lower 48 states, and we did the math to find them. It is a billion dollar problem in the Lower 48.
The CARES Act gave tribes an opportunity to spend billions of dollars by the end of the year. The purchase of the local exchange was one of the few things that could be done quickly.
Not all tribes have been able to take full advantage of the funds. Many tribes didn't apply for the money Some tribes have no personnel. They have grant writers who don't know how to use technology.
Inflation is one of the reasons costs are going up.
“Prices are getting bid way up. The money won’t go as far as it did.”
Mike Sheard, Siyeh Communications
The global supply chain is experiencing a problem. Every pallet of cable they can find has been bought by major communication players. Projects on Indian reservations are waiting 60 weeks or more to be filled. Waivers had to be obtained for the deadline.
The federal government appropriated over $60 billion for broadband, and the vendors know that, according to Mike Sheard, president of Siyeh Communications. The prices are going up a lot. Money won't go as far as it did.
While federal broadband funding likely won't be enough to dig fiber rings for every tribe, a clever planning department can lay a lot of cable.
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