Native American Wireless ISP Launched

babynerd writes "On Tuesday June 1st the Coeur dAlene tribe unveiled the Turbocharged Broadband Geek Project. The scheme, organized by project head Valerie Fast Horse and funded by a $2.8 million dollar grant from the USDA Rural Utilities Service and a 15% in kind match from the tribe itself, will help build a community technology center (CTC) with 40 computers, and a wireless broadband ISP that will provide high-speed wireless access to anyone living on and near the reservation at a price comparable to that of any other DSL or Cable Internet providers - there's currently no broadband Internet access of any kind available."

Comments

what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[garcia]

My biggest complaint about this is that the non-natives are funding this venture through the USDA Rural Utilities Service... Why doesn't their own tribe fund this effort? I have a feeling that they making more than enough money there to foot the $2.8 million bill themselves. Isn't that what those things are on reservations for? To build better Native American communities?

Re:what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[themaddone]

Oh, gee, you know, trivial things like roads and schools, stuff the Gov't doesn't really fund.

Re:what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[FreeLinux]

Why doesn't their own tribe fund this effort?

Because the tribe, as are most casino operators, are good business men. They know a good investment when they see one and they know how to take advantage of an opportunity to make more money.

Looking at it from a business perspective, it isn't very attractive at all. However, looking at it from the perspective of using someone else's money to provide yourselve's with services is quite attractive. Hence, the casino avoids such investments and the tribe benefits. It's sort of the same way that government grants support crappy research projects that the private sector wouldn't touch.

Re:what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[Saxton]

Have you ever driven through a Native American reservation? If we're compensating them, where did we go wrong? Seems like we sent some people into the top 5% tax bracket and left the rest of the tribes in the lowest levels of poverty. Not as nasty as killing their ancestors and forcing them into the worst parts of the country, but it's still pretty bad.

-Aaron

Re:what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[The One and Only]

Given that they're living under a Soviet-style planned economy, they aren't free to shape their own lives.

Re:what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[irokitt]

I live within driving distance of about 4 reservations, 3 of which have casinos. 2 of those are less than 10 minutes from me.

By and large, those two casinos send most of their money to out-of-state banks that fronted the money to build the casinos in the first place (and those banks are connected to Vegas). That will taper down once the casinos have paid most of the debt off. Some of the money gets sent to the state in the form of "taxes" (that's right, in order to have a casino the tribes do pay the state money). The rest gets split up amongst the reservation, tribal members, and employees (not all of whom are tribe members).

In my community, the nearby casinos have paid millions of dollars (about 4 million total) to widen roads and improve the traffic situation-things which have been needed for a long time (a decade and a half) but didn't start to happen until casinos were built and the money became available. Both nearby reservations are undergoing environmental cleanup, since years of mis-management have made them polluted, dangerous places to live. Schools desperately needing rebuilding have been rebuilt.

There are a lot of things that are bad about the casinos. I personally don't like to gamble and blame the casinos for the surge in DUI activity that I've seen around here. But at least here, where I am, some of that money is being very well spent and the tribes, who were historically shown the finger by both state and local governments, are worlds removed from the state they were in just a decade ago.

Re:what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[The One and Only]

They can leave the reservation,

Many have, my ancestors included. Others are trapped by economic circumstances. Still other don't want their culture to die.

or try to organize a better economic structure for their tribes. No one's forcing them to run things that way.

Ah, another ignorant AC. Actually, the Bureau of Indian Affairs pretty much requires a planned economy for the tribes. A couple of tribes have gotten permission from the BIA to have a freer economy, and they have succeeded. But in general, the vast majority of tribes in this country are forced to have 5 year economic plans by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Re:what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[general_re]

Oh, gee, you know, trivial things like roads and schools, stuff the Gov't doesn't really fund.

Riiiight. And if you pull the other one, it plays a little tune for you. Funny how they could afford $3 million for new slot machines all by themselves. Or how they can afford a $15 million hotel expansion all by themselves. Or how they could afford a $32 million casino expansion to add a sporting arena and 18-hole golf course all by themselves.

No, I think it's tolerably obvious that they can also afford to pay for their own wireless network all by themselves. I think it's also tolerably obvious where their spending priorities lie - why buy wireless for yourself when Uncle Sucker will step up to the plate? Who needs wireless when we've got empty floor space where we can squeeze in more slots?

Re:what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[ePhil_One]

Doesn't matter when they arrived, they are now living on land that belong to the Native American people. If a friend gives you a stlen car, you are benefiting from that crime, it doesn't matter that you aren't the one that stole car. If you buy a car from someone who's friend stole the car for him, you are stil benefiting from that crime.

If big evil corporation employees slave labor to make your shoes, you are benefiting from that crime. If your immigrant father worked as a piss boy for a tycoon whose father got rich building railroads accross the nation that forced native americans off the railroads right of way, you have benefited from that act. If you eat the bread that is produced from the huge American corn and wheat fields you are benefiting from the abuse the native americans suffered. If your Chinese father wasn't slaughtered at the fans of savage Japanese soldiers during World War II its very likely you benefited by the existance of the United States of America, which had the industrial power it did because of the callous way it forced the native peoples of the land it occupied out of its way.

I'm not suggesting that we return North American to the Native Americans and go home, just pointing out that everybody who is enjoying the freedoms and rights of the United States or has been aided by this nation has benefited by the oppression of the native american people. Unless you have had all your belongs that you couldn't carry 500 miles stolen and forced to live on the least desirable chunk of property the theives could find, you aren't THEY.

Re:what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[TheAngryArmadillo]

Crap, now I hate myself for having both THEY and WE ancestry. I think I'll go outside and kick my own ass then give my land back to myself.

Re:what are those mini-Vegas' for?

[ePhil_One]

Once you give it back to yourself, don't forget to start your Casino!

Smoke Signals

[Greenisus]

...very slow bandwidth . . . .

Re:Smoke Signals

[owlstead]

Yes, but if you tend your fire carefully you can achieve an always on connection. During daytime, that is...

Wi-Fi Power

[cgrayson]

If there's ever a sequel to Smoke Signals:

"Hey Victor! Your mother makes the best wi-fi!"

Seriously - great movie, set on the Coeur d'Alene reservation in present day (well, present day six years ago). You'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll become a part of you.

$2.8 Million?

[tmasssey]

Doesn't that seem like an awful lot of money for 40-computer technology center and a wireless ISP contained for a community?

That seems like enough for a *heck* of a buildout and, what? 10 years of expenses? How can I get a piece? :)

Re:$2.8 Million?

[Cat_Byte]

I used to work for a company (which will remain nameless) that installed networks for public schools. You wouldn't BELIEVE what they charged. It was way up in the 6 digits just for the cat-5 runs. Then they would have their $15,000 router I was supposed to install with no WAN. I was supposed to "make it blink and serve DHCP or something". Needless to say I quit when I was repeatedly asked to lie for my boss about why they had a million dollars worth of hardware for a grade-school lab. My guess is someone did the same thing to this tribe after they found out how much the grant was. Inflat x% until you use up the whole amount.

Re:$2.8 Million?

[Saeed al-Sahaf]

Doesn't that seem like an awful lot of money for...

2.8 Mill may seem like a lot of cash to you and me, but realistically, it doesn't buy a lot of IT these days. My guess is that building the facility and purchasing the 40 computers and associated equipment don't actually leave a whole lot for the wireless ISP end of the deal, which itself could consume 2.8 mill, easy. It's sad, but that kind of money is relativly minor for an IT investment of this type.

Re:$2.8 Million?

[bloosqr]

There was an article in the NYTimes about NEC defrauding the federal E-rate program a few weeks ago. That article is gone but here
is an AP wire article on the same thing. You did the right thing and its possible if you weren't working for NEC something similar will happen to other companies that are doing the same thing. In fact the NY Times article mentioned that congress going to hold hearings on this issue,
so it is something that is being looked into quite seriously.

-bloo

Maybe they will compete with white men's ISPs

[prostoalex]

I live in Spokane, 15 minute drive from CdA, and hopefully this project, if it succeeds, will bring more wireless into the area.

Right now the greater Spokane area is pretty much monopolized by Qwest's DSL (available some places) and Comcast's cable (available pretty much anywhere else). For a city with 300K plus total population it's a shame.

Netcraft confirms it....

[Anonymous Coward]

Too bad they ain't running Apache... maybe they've had bad experiences in the past?

Real Free Community Wireless Networking

[tomwhore]

Want to see what you can get from donations and volunteer efforts?

http://www.personaltelco.net

2.8 million would be nice to have, do not get me wrong. Given what we are doing for what we have it would mean a heck of a lot of coverage.

This is really wierd!

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm starting to think my history teacher is psychic. Today, we watched Smoke Signals in class and now there is this in the news. Last week, we finished talking about Ronald Reagan, now he died. A while back, we talked about Elia Kazan in the 50's, within a week, he died. Wierd...

I should get him to talk about Bill Gates...

USDA Rural Utilities Service

[Scottm87]

Intresting the history behind this organization... It started as one of the "alphabet soup" programs under Roosevelt during the Great Depression to help provide both employment and electrify the Nation's rural farms. The program was very successful, and established rural "electric cooperatives" that allowed a number of individuals to form their own electric substation at a fraction of the price of the major electric companies. It recieved a lot of flak along with other New Deal projects because it evoked a socialist-like image, and the "red scare" was part of the period. Later, the Rural Electrification project got squished together into the a small piece of the USDA. I wonder if this is the future of the project - if so, it will play a major part at bringing the nation cheap broadband access.

Re:All right, this will get me flamed, I'm sure.

[jjjefff]

Maybe the idea here is that by giving them a handout with potentially limitless educational value, we increase the odds that at least a few more of them will be motivated and have the resources to get out there and make it on their own.

I suppose you think fertilizer encourages laziness in plants...

Re:i smell a jealous white boy

[el-spectre]

Wow, I didn't realize that we had posters that were around in the 1800's. They should really be ashamed of themselves.

The natives got screwed royally. No one denies that. This does not mean that white people are evil for the rest of time. Funny how people decry racism until it fits their needs...

Re:No such thing as a "Native American"

[brulman]

actually several of us were born here.

Re:All right, this will get me flamed, I'm sure.

[jestered1]

"Why in the world do we spend tax dollars to let native Americans surf porn and do email?"
For the same damn reason we use tax dollors to let every Tom, Dick and Harry surf porn and do email from almost every public library in the U.S.. Fedral grants are handed out $millions at a time to put desktops in public schools or fund a new program at univeristies. Why does a tech grant to a tribe raise your ire any more than them?

Furthermore, how much do you know about tribes' "per-capita" payments, or scholorship programs? They're not simply tax money diverted from your pocket to their account. Many are the result of interest from trust-fund-like accounts, large lawsuit settlements against the gov't and income from tribe run organizations. And before anyone complains about a tribe's right to have those types of funds, realize that they are from treaties that the government signed, or lawsuits where the U.S. justice system found the government in fault.

Anonymous coward, indeed.

second time's the charm

[sacrilicious]

the Turbocharged Broadband Geek Project. The scheme, organized by project head Valerie Fast Horse

A previous attempt by a different group of native Americans failed to crystallize into an actual broadband offering. That group's spokesman, Eddie Slow Turtle, had no explanation.

FCC rules

[FuryG3]

So what are the rules for indian reservations and tribes according to the FCC? Does the FCC have jurisdiction over such areas?

Abusing the status...

[GPLDAN]

There is a systems integration and networking company here in the American West. I won't name their name, since the I'm going to say some pretty strong things...

The guy who owns gets a deep discount from distrubution partners because his is a "native-american" owned business. The company wraps themselves in the iconography and their logo is an animal synonymous with the American Indian.

This guy is ONE-EIGHTH American Indian. I won't even name the tribe. Doesn't matter. This guy is fat, pale white and bald and looks about as American Indian as Tony Soprano. perfect guy to compare him to, as well. Actually, I think Tony is less corrupt.

Nevertheless, he has a huge advantage over his competition. His discount is about 3 to 4 POINTS below a company without that status. Bidding an integration and database project that includes a $100,000 worth of Sun equipment? Going against these guys? Snap $4k off the top, just throw that money away or you WILL be underbid. Looking for an education contract? Good luck.

Want to know what else you are up against? the Tax benefits to a large corporation when they give business to a "Small Business Administration-certified 8(a)" firm. Want to double up the tax breaks? Do it in a HUBzone - Historically Underutilized Business Zone. Does your company need to be in the HUBZone to qualify for the tax break? Not necessarily. Quite a few legal entanglements there, depends what state your corporation is incorporated in.

Isn't about time we closed bullshit loopholes like these? I'm a Democrat and believe that certain inequalities exist and that in certain instances, Affirmative Action and tax incentives for areas make for good business and re-level a playing field that DOES have systematic racism in it. But laws regarding Indians are just being abused. Badly. I have a friend who is actually HALF Sioux. He moved away, but I wanted to start a business with him as an equal partner. 4 points on Cisco, Sun, and a myriad of other gear is big margin in the VAR world.

Angry Geeks

[broadzilla]

I am shocked to read the number of angry responses to this story. I always thought that technology was neutral in the racial game, and was quite surprised at the number of angry, racial geeks out there. I guess I should be glad that your remarks are based on ignorance rather than truth or honesty. The good news: you angry guys are not the majority.

Re:Angry Geeks

[pyrrhonist]

Hard to get further in my career because of the color of my skin.

Have you ever actually been turned down for a job, because of your skin color? I have, and I'm caucasian.

I interviewed at a govenment agency in the 90's, and the director flat out told me, "You're more qualified for the job, but we have to hire the other candidate, because he is in a minority."

The other candidate ended up not taking the job. I took it, because I needed the money.

Re:Angry Geeks

[buddhaseviltwin]

Everybody's 1/16 Cherokee. It does nothing for the record.

This is not about handouts or reparations. Our government signed a lot of treaties that they were legally bounded by. Our government broke those treaties, so our courts have rightly decided that our government should PAY DAMAGES for violating agreements it entered in...

It's not about you and me paying for our grandparents mistakes. It's about the US and Canadian governments paying for their mistakes. If you really don't want to continue paying for our countries past mistakes, then I can suggest a number of countries where you can emmigrate.

Lastly, ending your posts with STFU cements your juvenille tendencies. IE, It makes you look really stupid.