Project Title:
Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program
Funding Program:
Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program
Project Purpose/Type:
The proposed project is a Broadband Use and Adoption Project that is designed to upgrade equipment for qualifying broadband services at 6 facilities owned by the Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC). These facilities are used by KIC employees to deliver health care, workforce development, education, housing, social services, behavioral health, natural resources, and other services that would benefit from improved broadband quality and accessibility. The implementation of the project is expected to enable broadband adoption activities, including telehealth, distance learning, telework, and workforce development.
State(s):
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$500,000.00Funding Amount
The project intends to upgrade equipment used by KIC to deliver broadband services. The key activities include:
- Surveying facilities for Wi-Fi availability and broadband capabilities to capture existing data transmission capabilities and determine broadband speed and capacity.
- Outfitting all 6 of KIC’s buildings with new WiFi access points and routers.
- Upgrading existing equipment and adding in cellular booster systems inside two existing buildings that have poor service, enhancing current signal capabilities to enable the Tribe’s use of broadband for telehealth, education, government services and remote capabilities for employment.
- Expanding licenses for cloud computing software.
- Establishing a Dedicated Internet Access line for the KIC Tribal Health Clinic to expand potential for telehealth and distance learning.
- Modernizing server room to accommodate and protect servers (i.e., non-water-based fire suppression service).
The project’s expected outcome is to improve broadband capacity and capability for 6 Tribal facilities to expand broadband adoption activities, including telehealth, distance learning, telework, and workforce development.
The project intends to benefit over 175 KIC employees and more than 6,000 enrolled Tribal members.