Broadband access disparities across rural areas of the country, particularly on tribal lands, is a pervasive problem in need of solution. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of access to broadband connectivity, which enables remote classroom, telemedicine and telehealth programs needed to deliver education and health care virtually as in-person services are limited or unavailable. The lack of broadband availability on tribal lands is not a new problem, however, and the significant lag behind urban areas and even other rural areas in the level of broadband access has been detrimental to economic development and educational opportunities for tribal populations.
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