AT&T has agreed with California’s San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians to expand the telco’s fiber network to serve residential and small business locations throughout San Pasqual Band Tribal land.
This week, the San Pasqual Tribe and AT&T will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on the new deployment of AT&T Fiber to more than 500 customer locations in Valley Center, Calif., on the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians’ Tribal land.
The San Pasqual Reservation is a thriving community of over 1,500 residents. New economic opportunities that include Valley View Casino and other tribal business ventures have helped to improve the lives of Tribal Members and their descendants. The revival of the Reservation can be seen in well-maintained roads, modern Tribal government buildings, and the residents' overall well-being.
“Delivering reliable, high-speed internet service to our Tribal community is very important for us,” said Stephen Cope, chairman of the San Pasqual Tribe. “We are excited to work with AT&T to bring broadband connectivity and help bridge the digital divide on our Tribal lands.”
AT&T, working with various Tribal leaders, local governments, and community groups to expand and increase broadband adoption, will give the tribal community access to speeds of up to 5 Gbps.
While lack of connectivity is the harsh reality of the digital divide, unfortunately, Native Americans on Tribal lands are among those least connected to high-speed Internet.
AT&T actively participates in the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP provides eligible households with a benefit of up to $30 a month (up to $75 a month on qualifying Tribal lands2) to reduce the cost of internet service and can be applied to AT&T Fiber, where available.
The telco’s work with the San Pasqual Tribe is just one of several efforts to enhance the availability and adoption of broadband in underserved communities. AT&T also launched its AT&T Connected Learning Centers® to help narrow the gap by investing in connectivity, technology, digital literacy and learning tools to help today’s students succeed, inside and outside the classroom. It opened five Connected Learning Centers in California, including one at the Rincon Education Center in San Diego County that nearby Tribal communities access and use.
“Our work with the San Pasqual Tribe is another example of the efforts we’re making to broaden the reach of our broadband service and deliver ultra-fast internet in California,” said Marc Blakeman, president of AT&T California. “We are committed to investing in the modern, high-speed network infrastructure necessary in today’s economy, and we are also committed to narrowing the digital divide in our underserved communities so that families have access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities.”
