Members of the Shinnecock Nation, who have long lived with spotty cellular and internet service on the nation’s territory, can look forward to a reliable connectivity, thanks to an $8.2 million federal grant the tribe recently won.
The grant will allow the tribe to extend a 5G fiber optic cable from Riverhead to both its Westwoods and Shinnecock Neck territories and construct two cellular towers that would improve service both on the territory and in the surrounding area as well.
The money will come from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and is part of the broader Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that Congress passed earlier this year. A total of $224.5 million was awarded in the latest round of funding, with the Shinnecock Nation being one of only two New York tribes to qualify.
“It was very competitive,” said Shinnecock tribal attorney Tela Troge, who worked on the grant, along with Tribal Vice Chairman Randy King, Trustee Kelly Dennis and tribe member Matt Ballard. The tribe also worked with a California consulting firm, Native Network, to craft its grant request.
The project, which the tribe hopes to complete by February 2024, would connect 301 households on the territory and another 60 houses that are nearby. Tribal government buildings and other institutions will also be connected, providing service for an estimated 536 people.
“We have almost no cellphone service, and it’s hard to engage in distance learning and tele-health appointments,” Troge said, adding that the Shinnecock Neck territory, in particular, is plagued by dead zones that even affect vendors at the tribe’s annual Powwow, who often find it difficult to access their networks to process sales.
The need for improved cellular and internet service became readily apparent during the COVID-19 shutdown in the spring of 2020, when many Shinnecock children were unable to attend virtual classes and elders were unable to access health care.
“It’s important that we find ways to work from home, go to school from home, and have access to health care from home,” Dennis said. “It’s important to build up that infrastructure.”
She added that under President Joe Biden, money had been earmarked for tribal needs. “We were usually an afterthought for different infrastructure needs,” she said.
With the grant in hand, the tribe will now turn its attention to construction. Earlier this year, the tribe won a $1.14 million transportation infrastructure grant that will be used to help design and plan for the future reconstruction of its roads. Laying cable lines will be worked out in conjunction with that project, Dennis said.
“I’m really proud of the hard work of the tribe members who submitted the application for this grant,” said Tribal Chairman Bryan Polite. “They did a lot, lot, lot of work.”
Stephen J. Kotz on Dec 1, 2022