MASHPEE – The Mashpee Select Board has approved a letter of support for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s application for a broadband service grant.
“The purpose of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is to improve the quality of life, spur economic development and commercial activity and create online opportunities for remote employment, online entrepreneurship, remote learning and telehealth by expanding broadband access and providing digital training and inclusion programs to Native American communities,” said Secretary of Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Cassie Jackson during the meeting with select board members.
“Low-income tribal households are currently underserved due to the high cost of internet on Cape.”
The grant that the tribe is applying for is part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and created by the Consolidated Appropriations Act
She said that the tribe will use the funds to partner with OpenCape, a fiber optic technology nonprofit based in Barnstable, to build and upgrade broadband infrastructure.
Through a survey, the tribe has also identified key areas that need the fiber connections the most to improve better connectivity.
Board member Andrew Gottlieb supported the project and voiced a desire to see the town also join the high-speed, fiber optic network in the future.
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