This will provide business opportunities and jobs. Communications in rural areas has always been difficult. This project will help solve the communication problems we have faced.
(PRWEB UK) 19 November 2013
Following a recent $6.6 million grant award from the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), the tribes have launched the Klamath River Rural Broadband Initiative with Datasat and EnerTribe appointed communications providers.
EnerTribe and Datasat have been involved with the project to deliver broadband to the Karuk tribe for over three years. Initial support was to assist the community gain a grant of $1.1 million from the USDA Rural Utility Services Community Connect Program. Funded through Datasat, this grant allowed the tribe to become a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) and lay the foundations for the CPUC award that will bring an effective communications infrastructure to the Karuk and Yurok communities for the very first time.
“This will provide business opportunities and jobs. Communications in rural areas has always been difficult. This project will help solve the communication problems we have faced,” says Karuk Tribal Chairman Russell Attebery.
The proposed communications infrastructure from Datasat and EnerTribe will include a combination of fixed fiber and wireless connectivity to ensure that consumers, business, schools, hospitals, government buildings and first responders have fast and responsive broadband and voice services in an area where it is often difficult to receive a dial tone currently. Early pilot schemes have shown the effect a robust wireless infrastructure can have on basic services such as educational applications in the classroom.
Forest James, CEO of EnerTribe said: “In partnership with Datasat and Native Link, we have been able to help the Karuk and Yurok communities build a compelling case for CPUC funding. We are now looking forward to creating the communications infrastructure that these communities so badly need. We have already demonstrated that advances in wireless technologies mean that no area, regardless how remote, has to suffer poor communications.”
"We believe that, today, broadband access is the next utility and a basic right for everyone. For rural communities like the Karuk, it is not just about quality of life, it is about delivering the social and economic opportunities that enable people to remain within their community. That's why we are proud of what we have achieved by providing the initial funding and enabling the tribes to start building the communications infrastructure they require," said Ciaran Doran, Group CEO of Datasat.
About Datasat Technologies
Datasat Technologies was formed in 2009 to deliver an evolution in wireless networks specifically designed to support the latest developments in video, voice and data communications. Since then, the company has developed a range of network provision services to help customers maximize their investment in wireless and hybrid communications networks. It currently works with public and private organizations across the globe to deliver secure and reliable networks for the new generation of bandwidth-hungry, rich media applications. The Datasat product range include the QuadraFlex range of wireless routers and the QuadraStorm range of CCTV recording and management solutions.
About EnerTribe
EnerTribe is a 100% Native American owned broadband communications development company and telecommunications consulting firm focused on city and community-wide integrated broadband planning. It is staffed by professionals that have decades of Tribal business development and communication industry technical expertize. Working with rural communities, the company delivers customized communication solutions. EnerTribe brings all the elements together with its comprehensive approach to setting up a community-owned communications company.