August 25, 2023 3:40 a.m.

On Thursday, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced that the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians has secured a federal grant of over $482,000 to improve broadband service for its Tribal lands in southwest Oregon.

Wyden said, “Federal investment in fast and dependable broadband is a must-do infrastructure priority, and those resources must include Tribal communities in Oregon and nationwide”. A joint release said earlier this year Wyden successfully fought to correct inaccuracies in the National Broadband Map that would have cost Oregon hundreds of millions of dollars in grants. Wyden said he is gratified the Tribe has earned these federal dollars and, “I’ll keep working to ensure all of Oregon’s tribal communities have the same broadband investment to link families to health care, children to school resources, and workers to good-paying jobs”.

Merkley said, “In today’s connected world, access to the internet is crucial, and every rural and Tribal community across Oregon and America needs and deserves access to affordable, reliable high-speed broadband”. Merkley said the investment will support critical broadband access for the Tribe, which will only help to strengthen the future success of the community.

The release said the investment from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s tribal broadband connectivity program will lead to an engineering, regulatory, and design plan for new broadband. It will enable effective wireless delivery of twenty-five megabits per second when downloading and three megabits per second when uploading.

Chairman of the Cow Creek Tribe Carla Keene said they are honored to receive the grant award. Keene said the funds will be used to develop shovel-ready projects in southern Douglas County that in the future will bring broadband access to Tribal member housing and improved connectively for all residents in that rural area.