Huge swaths of the U.S. population still struggle to work, study, or even communicate without access to reliable or affordable high-speed connectivity. This situation, given greater attention as our working and learning routines have shifted over the past few years, disproportionally affects tribal communities — who struggle to access modern internet connectivity and are all too often left unserved by major operators.
These tribal communities, more than 500 of them across the U.S., often have some of the worst internet options available. According to an American Indian Policy Institute analysis of FCC data, just 67% of tribal lands in the U.S. have access to broadband internet, with the majority experiencing inadequate broadband speeds that can’t support many of today’s common applications. What’s more, despite having this access, basic affordability becomes another barrier with only half of tribal residents having the resources to pay for broadband subscriptions.
This lack of access is largely due to a combination of inadequate broadband infrastructure and the high expense of deploying in these tribal regions. Many tribal territories are in very remote locations, making installing internet infrastructure both logistically tricky and costly. As a result, legacy operators do not see the ROI potential of connecting these more remote communities, when compared to the economics offered by serving urban or suburban areas.
Funding tribal broadband
Thanks to the recent availability of government initiatives and funding, such as the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program and the NTIA’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, there are billions of dollars’ worth of funding available for delivering affordable broadband to these traditionally unserved communities. These programs, coupled with organizations and philanthropic foundations offering grants and support for digital inclusion, have presented a generational opportunity for tribes to truly close the connectivity gap for the first time.
Tribal nations are now actively working to utilize this government and private investment. Early adopters are already busy deploying advanced networks using a mix of fiber and wireless infrastructure to connect their communities, even extending broadband services to the very remote edges of their territories.
The advent of CBRS
Fixed broadband, delivered via fiber to a property or residence, has increasingly been the primary method for connecting citizens in more urban environments. However, deploying full-fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) to connect residents or businesses over a large geographic area is typically very costly and complex. It involves much greater physical distances to cover, higher labor costs, and considerable time to install.
However, for such environments, a hybrid fiber/wireless network architecture can be a much more attractive option. Fiber can still be deployed in the network but toward the edges, but the “last mile” can be complemented with a fixed wireless solution. This model provides reliable coverage across a very broad area — for much less cost and with less time to deploy, while still providing broadband speeds to support today’s mix of advanced use cases and applications like video streaming and virtual conferencing. Cellular achieves approximately four times greater coverage than Wi-Fi and can be used for both indoor and outdoor coverage.
Traditionally, when looking to deploy a cellular network, the network owner or operator (a community, enterprise, or service provider) would have had to also acquire spectrum, either leasing from another carrier or licensing it directly from the government. Both options are costly. However, in 2020, the FCC authorized full use of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum — a 150 MHz wide broadcast band, within the 3.5 GHz spectrum band, available to the general public to enable outdoor and indoor private cellular network applications. This means that any municipality, enterprise, or any other organization can deploy and run a cellular wireless network without the great expense of acquiring spectrum. This approach offers a number of advantages. Cellular is a global standard and as such, there is a massive ecosystem of compliant products. Cellular is much better to support a broader set of use cases like data, voice, IoT and mobility than Wi-Fi, and since the network is private, there are no issues with throttling or data caps (and extra costs) that typically come from using a public carrier’s service.
The network technology: Small cells and fixed wireless
Small cells are fully functional cellular base stations that can be easily installed on towers, light poles, traffic lights, billboards, or buildings to provide either very broad or focused coverage as part of a private CBRS network. Small cells offer a highly scalable and cost-effective solution compared to building traditional macro-cellular infrastructure and can be deployed outdoors and indoors. Small cells are used by wireless operators across the globe and can be found today in all kinds of communities. Small cells can be deployed to serve a specific neighborhood or larger areas as required. This scalability allows localized areas to easily adapt and grow their networks as demands evolve.
Fixed wireless, meanwhile, has emerged as a complementary technology to traditional fiber or copper wired connection to premises. Fixed wireless uses the CBRS spectrum to transport data between two fixed points, typically from the small cell on a tower, light pole, or building to a home or business. The connection is then typically propagated throughout the home or business using Wi-Fi, or devices can also connect to it directly. For example, every iPhone since iPhone 11 (2019 release) supports CBRS. Just check the supported LTE bands on your device, CBRS = LTE Band 48.
Fixed wireless networks can utilize various wireless frequencies, including licensed LTE, 5G, and millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands, to connect to devices at high speeds. These frequencies allow for high-speed data transfer over longer distances, enabling broadband internet access in areas where deploying wired infrastructure is not practical. Non-line of sight (NLOS) fixed wireless can also deliver connectivity over a broad range of challenging environments, including mountainous areas or those with tall trees and other obstacles – common in rural areas.
In addition, these small cells can also enable network architectures that allow typical mobility services, which are also in need since most of these tribal communities are remote and not covered by the national or regional MNOs. Functionality like neutral host would then allow people passing through to roam on the private network and for tribal members to roam off the network when they were traveling. This presents a revenue opportunity for the tribe.
These private cellular networks can also support the delivery of community-specific services. These can include localized content distribution, community-wide Wi-Fi access, emergency communication systems, or applications tailored to meet the unique needs of tribes. Again, since the network is tailor-made for the community, other options like controlling access to content are possible and often a basic requirement when these networks are deployed for school districts and students engaging in remote learning sessions.
Finding the right partner
Tribes that deploy private networks must partner with a systems integrator for support in designing, implementing, and managing a private wireless network. They can provide end-to-end solutions tailored to the unique requirements and objectives of a community.
It’s important to find the right systems integrator: they play a vital role in ensuring the success of your project — providing a robust, secure, and high-performing network that is tailored to the community, its use cases, and the users or devices themselves.
Democratizing high-speed connectivity
The availability of affordable and easy-to-manage private wireless infrastructure that leverages CBRS spectrum and government funding provides tribal communities with opportunities to deliver a variety of wireless applications; including rural broadband expansion, telehealth and smart city initiatives.
Tribal nations now have the opportunity to leverage technology solutions to close the digital divide. By investing in affordable and reliable connectivity, these communities can unlock economic prosperity, educational opportunities, and improved healthcare — ultimately bridging the gap and ensuring equitable access to internet services for all.
