Require Tribal Consent for 5G Fund, Tribes Say
Tribal officials say RDOF would have been more effective with such a requirement.
Jake Neenan
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2024 – Tribal governments are urging the Federal Communications Commission to require their consent before subsidizing 5G infrastructure on Tribal lands.
“Indeed, the Tribe unfortunately knows firsthand what happens when tribes are not full participants in the process of deployment on Tribal lands,” the Southern Ute Indian Tribe wrote in comments posted Friday. “Tribal communities will only receive adequate broadband service if they are provided the resources to do it themselves, or the ability to choose their provider partnerships.”
The FCC adopted in August an order standing up its long-planned 5G Fund for Rural America, which will spend up to $9 billion on wireless infrastructure via a reverse auction.
In that order, the agency took comment on whether or not it should require evidence of Tribal consent before handing cash to winners looking to serve or build on Tribal lands.
The Southern Ute Tribe and the National Tribal Telecommunications Association noted that the agency did not do this with its 2020 broadband subsidy, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The Tribe said an RDOF winner was awarded funding – ultimately clawed back after the Tribe objected – to serve about 60 percent of its reservation, despite the Tribe already being in the process of building its own network. Other RDOF defaults have cited existing Tribal broadband projects.
NTTA cited an Institute for Local Self-Reliance report that collected similar stories from Tribal officials, which the group said “would have been avoided had some kind of robust Tribal consent provision been in place.”
A Tribal consent requirement would allow “Tribes to engage meaningfully with technology companies to ensure that cultural sites are protected, environmental concerns are addressed, economic benefits are shared equitably, and the digital divide continues to shrink,” wrote the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
Smaller carriers agreed the agency should take up a Tribal consent requirement. Smith Bagley and the Competitive Carriers Association urged the FCC to consider an exemption for providers who have a history of serving the Tribal lands in question.
If it does adopt a Tribal consent requirement, the agency proposed to use a scheme similar to the Tribal Land Bidding Credit available to participants in its spectrum auctions. That would involve a written certification from a Tribal official within 180 days of submitting their post-auction funding application.
