Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

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

• Install 303 miles of aerial and underground fiber.
• Deploy middle mile fiber to connect 927 unserved Tribal households with a 2.5 GHz licensed LTE wireless network.
• Deploy last mile fiber network connecting 35 unserved Tribal businesses and 22 unserved Tribal community anchor institutions.
• Construct a Network Operations Center, 1 tower, and 20 remote population locations.
• Create 3 new IT jobs to maintain and service the system.

This project will:

• Provide affordable, high-speed, reliable, and future-proofed Internet access to Tribal households with a minimum speed of 30/5 Mbps, to businesses with an average speed of 100 Mbps, and to anchor institutions with an average speed of 1 Gbps.
• Open opportunities for telehealth care services, online educational opportunities, workforce development, telecommuting, and digital and financial literacy.
• Provide an increased level of public safety.
• Support cultural preservation.
• Encourage Tribal residents and businesses to adopt emerging smart technologies.
• Establish a CSKT Tribe-owned broadband Internet service accessible to all Native households, businesses, and anchor institutions on the Reservation.
• Remove the affordability barrier and be 100% carrier-neutral.

The project intends to benefit Tribal residents, business owners, and anchor institutions such as schools, health care facilities, public safety facilities, and agricultural facilities.