Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced that $11,628,699 is coming to Nevada Tribes through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). Senator Cortez Masto introduced legislation that was later included in the 2021 omnibus government funding bill and that improved the administration of the TBCP. She also advocated for the bipartisan infrastructure law, which added funding for the TBCP.
“Throughout my time in the Senate, I’ve worked to make sure Tribes in Nevada have access to critical broadband,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I made sure these funds would get to Tribes in Nevada in a timely and efficient fashion, and I’m committed to helping Nevadans in every community access the critical educational, business, health care, and cultural resources that the internet provides.”
The funds will be distributed as follows:
- $6,476,858 to the Walker River Paiute Tribe to install fiber directly connecting 418 households, 22 community institutions, and 10 Tribal businesses.
- $3,482,070 to the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe to install fiber directly connecting 78 households and 11 Tribal institutions to the home service.
- $1,669,771 to the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe to directly connect 313 households to the home service.
As part of her Innovation State Initiative, Senator Cortez Masto has led in the Senate to improve broadband access, including in Tribal communities, and strengthen Nevada’s economy. Most recently, she advocated for provisions in the bipartisan infrastructure law to invest in broadband. In recent months, those investments have delivered more than $30 million in support for broadband for Nevada’s Tribal communities alone. In 2020, she passed her bipartisan ACCESS BROADBAND Act to foster the development and growth of broadband resources for businesses, as well as underserved urban and rural communities in Nevada, through improved access and transparency of federal broadband. That legislation created the Commerce Department of Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG), which manages the department’s broadband programs like the TBCP.
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