Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

The project proposes the following activities designed to improve access to, and use of, broadband services among Tribal members:

• Construct a 12.3-mile middle mile fiber network.
• Construct a 524-mile last-mile network to connect 2,190 unserved Native American households to qualifying service. (The Tribe will own 162 miles of the new fiber and lease 362 miles from MaxxSouth Broadband that provides local customer high-speed Internet and digital phone services.)
• Connect the fiber backbone to existing Tribal-owned fiber out of Bogue Chitto, constructing new branches to connect Pearl River, Tucker, Red Water, Standing Pine, and Conehatta.
• Upgrade the current WAN (wide area network) expanding it to 6 unconnected communities and to deliver broadband through a partnership with MaxxSouth. (The Tribe will manage the WAN.)
• Construct a new Tribal Utility Department building with equipment and furnishings. 
• Expand the Office of Engineering Services (OES) to support additional network capacity and the OES application process for becoming a designated Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC). 

This project will:

• Connect 2,190 unserved Native American households, 86 businesses, and 60 community anchor institutions with qualifying broadband services.
• Develop capacity-building initiatives supporting Tribal homes, maximizing the positive impacts of ubiquitous broadband access.
• Provide virtual government services and resources.
• Support the OES application to become a designated ETC.
• Create 3 full-time jobs including an Information Technology Technician and 2 customer services staff. 

The project intends to benefit all unserved Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indian households, 86 tribal businesses, 60 community anchor institutions, and all tribal members that utilize public services.