Arizona’s five Tribal entities have been awarded a collection grant to expand high-speed internet access on First Nations land.
The $105 million grant comes from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. It will fund high-speed infrastructure development projects for the Navajo, Hopi, Pascua Yaqui, San Carlos Apache and White Mountain Apache Tribes.
In a press release Tuesday, the Biden-Harris Administration said the project will bring high-speed internet access to more than 33,000 homes.
Vice President Kamala Harris said the administration’s vision is to “connect all Native communities with the Internet” and the opportunities that come with it.
The American Indian Policy Institute in 2019 estimated nearly 20% of Tribal reservations in the U.S. have no internet access.