To address the problem of low Internet penetration on tribal land...
To address the problem of low Internet penetration on tribal lands, Senate Commerce Committee Co-Chmn. Inouye (D- Hawaii) introduced a bill to clarify tribal libraries’ E-rate fund eligibility. The bill, co-sponsored by Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) and Sens. Dorgan (D-N.D.),…
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Burns (R-Mont.) and McCain (R-Ariz.), would require the Census Bureau to ask about Internet subscribership in residential households to get a more accurate picture of how many people are connected. Inouye premiered the bill at a hearing on rural telecom. Native Americans view telecom law changes “very seriously,” said Joe Garcia, pres.-National Congress of American Indians. The 1934 and 1996 laws left “tribal roles, needs and abilities unaddressed,” Garcia said: “This is one of the root causes why our lands lag far behind the rest of the nation in virtually every measure of communications connectivity.” “There is the very real risk that broadband will not be deployed in many parts of rural America -- or it will not provide rural consumers the kind of access they need,” said Microsoft CTO Craig Mundie. One way to speed deployment is to adopt a “white spaces” bill Stevens proposed, he said. That bill would allow allocation of spectrum below 1 GHz for unlicensed uses, Mundie said.