Funds are sought for tribes' digital communication (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Funds are sought for tribes' digital communication

Jessica Coomes
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 1, 2007 12:00 AM
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0401indian-telecom0401.html

Swaths of Indian land in Arizona are cut off from cellphone service and the
Internet, which creates problems in responding to emergencies and
communicating in an information economy, a state lawmaker said.

State Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Flagstaff, wants Congress to grant tribes
money to establish communication infrastructure and allow tribes to
regulate their own telecommunications.

Kirkpatrick is sponsoring House Concurrent Memorial 2007, a letter that
would be sent from the Arizona Legislature to Congress, asking that the
federal government do more to bridge the tribes' digital divide.

The Senate Government Committee approved the measure Monday, 5-0. The full
House passed the measure 40-17 last month.

"A lot of people don't realize it's a problem," Kirkpatrick said. "We have
huge gaps. . . . We do not have a continuous band of telecommunications in
northern Arizona."

Kirkpatrick said tribes should be allowed to regulate their own
telecommunications, in part, because of the red tape communications
companies and tribes face in getting approval for services from the U.S.
Bureau of Indian Affairs.

"It takes years to get approval," she said.

Immediately after she was sworn into office in 2005, Kirkpatrick said she
met with Gov. Janet Napolitano and tribal leaders to talk about remote
communities in northern Arizona that were stranded after heavy floods.
Kirkpatrick said she has been working on the issue since then.

Lobbyist and Navajo Nation member Ron Lee said the digital divide needs to
be bridged.

"Knowledge is a huge part of the economy, and we need to have the tribal
communities connected to better participate in the economy and, today, the
global economy," Lee told senators this week.