Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Northern Cheyenne Tribe to get $52M for broadband expansion

Westend61
/
Getty Images

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe is slated to receive $52 million in federal funding to expand broadband to nearly 2,000 homes on the tribe’s reservation.

Funding from the infrastructure bill passed by Congress and signed by President Biden earlier this year is expected to connect 1,700 homes on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation to high speed internet.

According to a Broadband Now report, a little more than half of residents on the reservation have access to high-speed internet, but none of the available services are considered affordable for low-income people.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the Blackfeet Nation were both awarded nearly $75 millions in grants through the same Internet for All initiative earlier this year. Roughly $3 billion in federal funding has been set aside to help tribes across the country improve broadband access.

Copyright 2022 Montana Public Radio. To see more, visit Montana Public Radio.

Aaron is Montana Public Radio's Flathead reporter.