[1st-mile-nm] Project linking pueblos to broadband internet well underway

[Richard Lowenberg]

Link to the entire article about this important initiative.
Excellent work on the part of the Santa Fe Indian School to
help fiber connect tribal communities across the state.   RL.

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Project linking pueblos to broadband internet well underway

By Margaret O’Hara mohara at sfnewmexican.com    Jan 17, 2023

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/education/project-linking-pueblos-to-broadband-internet-well-underway/article_81d0544a-9210-11ed-983a-4fa4ad39be46.html

Taven Vallo, a 17-year old senior at the Santa Fe Indian School, spent 
his second year of high school working late into the night.

After that day in March 2020, when a loudspeaker announcement told 
students COVID-19 necessitated an early spring break, Taven returned to 
the Pueblo of Acoma for online schooling — without much internet access 
at home.

His household, including an elementary school-age sister trying to 
succeed in online learning and his mother pursuing a master’s degree at 
the University of New Mexico while working remotely, relied on a single 
Wi-Fi hot spot, the size of a smartphone.

The hot spot could only manage about three users at a time, so Taven 
took the night shift, completing his school work from 10 p.m. to the 
early hours of the morning, around 2 or 3 a.m. Then, he was up at 6 a.m. 
to start a new school day.

School administrators, tribal leaders and other organizations are 
working to better connect students like Taven and rural, tribal 
communities to reliable internet access, officials involved told U.S. 
Sen. Martin Heinrich on Tuesday during a visit to the Santa Fe campus.

It’s called the Santa Fe Indian School Pueblo Education Network, said 
Kimball Sekaquaptewa, SFIS’ chief technology officer. By late 2025, the 
hope is, it will connect American Indian communities from Santa Fe to 
the Zuni Reservation to fiber-optic internet access.

(snip)


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Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
1st-Mile Institute       505-603-5200
28 Sunrise Road, Santa Fe, NM   87507
rl at 1st-mile.org      www.1st-mile.org
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