[1st-mile-nm] Sacred Wind + NTU Agreement

[Richard Lowenberg]

New agreement could bring 5G coverage to rural Navajo Nation communities

https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/sacred-wind-communications-navajo-techincal-university-collaborate-to-make-5g-available-in-rural-communities/

Posted: Aug 25, 2020

NAVAJO NATION (KRQE) – Sacred Wind Communications, Inc. and Navajo 
Technical University announced Tuesday a new agreement to explore the 
expansion of broadband connectivity in tribal communities and remote 
homes on the Navajo Nation.

“In times of COVID-19, connecting more Navajos at their homes to 
high-speed Internet is more important than ever, as the COVID-19 
pandemic has shown us,” said Jason Arviso in a SWC news release Tuesday, 
NTU’s Vice President of Operations. “NTU has a strong history in 
designing fixed wireless systems and is eager to demonstrate the value 
of this spectrum for all of our students across Navajo Lands.”

According to the same news release, the unassigned 2.5 GHz spectrum will 
deliver greater capacity and coverage at a longer range, which will 
enable the provision of fast and reliable 5G wireless internet service 
to rural unserved and underserved communities in the Navajo Nation.

“We are honored to have been chosen by the Navajo Nation to test 
broadband equipment using this spectrum,“ said John Badal in the same 
news release, Sacred Wind’s CEO, “and we are excited to see how much 
farther this technology can carry Internet service to even more Navajo 
homes.”

SWC says the FCC has assigned the Navajo Nation with provisional and 
temporary access of the 2.5 GHz spectrum for the expansion of broadband 
services throughout the Nation, to encourage Tribal nations to obtain 
2.5 GHz licenses to provide services in rural Tribal areas. SWC says the 
Navajo Nation has agreed to enable SWC and NTU to collaboratively deploy 
the 2.5 GHz band at seven geographically diverse tower sites around 
Eastern Navajo Agency in New Mexico to test its efficacy and impact on 
broadband accessibility to approximately 70 rural locations over a 
two-month period.


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Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
1st-Mile Institute     505-603-5200
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504,
rl at 1st-mile.org     www.1st-mile.org
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