Oki Communications, LLC

Glacier Peaks StarLink Cable Heritage Center    Blackfeet Coins Oki Communications Siyeh Home Siyeh developing partnership to provide high-speed                                  BACK wireless Internet Glacier Reporter, June 30, 2005 Siyeh Development Corporation, a subsidiary of the Blackfeet Tribe, is working on a partnership agreement with CommunityTel Inc. and Ronan Telephone Company (RTC) of Ronan.  They are planning to implement high-speed wireless Internet service for the Blackfeet Reservation.  The project is currently in the business planning stage for the Browning and Heart Butte areas.  The next phase of the plan will include providing services to East Glacier and the St. Mary valley. The long-term goal of the partnership is to build a self-sustaining, independent, community based telecommunications utility to serve the entire Blackfeet Reservation. Operational responsibility and control of the proposed business will rest with Siyeh Development Corporation, with CommunityTel and RTC initially providing upstream services and ongoing technical support.  This new service option will be provided by the Blackfeet Tribe.  It will be radio-based and will make use of a license that was purchased in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wireless spectrum auction in September 2002. The idea to form a locally based telephone company to serve the Blackfeet Reservation originated in the early 1990s.  At that time, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council commissioned an economic analysis of the feasibility of forming an electric and telephone utility to serve the Blackfeet Reservation.  These plans were not implemented then because of the monopolistic structure of both the electric and telecommunications industries of the time.  The U.S. Congress subsequently passed the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which transformed the structure of the telephone industry into a competitive business.  Between 1996 and the present, the FCC has implemented a number of rule changes designed to promote competitive telecommunications services.  These included making new radio spectrum available to allow alternative, competitive services to be offered. In 1999, the FCC recognized special problems encountered by tribal communities that were hampered by inadequate telecommunication services and telephone subscribership levels often far below the national average.  The FCC responded by creating the Indian Telecom Initiative, a program designed to improve telecommunications in Indian country.  One of the programs was the Tribal Lands Bidding Credit, in which substantial discounts became available for entities bidding on radio spectrum to provide improved telecommunications services on qualifying tribal lands. In early 2002, RTC approached the Blackfeet Tribe proposing to utilize this program in FCC Spectrum Auction 44.  This nationwide auction reassigned UHF TV Channels 54 and 59 for the purpose of providing competitive, broadband data services.  In September 2002, RTC became the successful bidder for the 700MHz C-band spectrum license for three rural service areas in western Montana.  An agreement was made between the Blackfeet Tribe, Siyeh Development Corporation and RTC to utilize the Tribal Land Bidding Credit program.  The agreement specified that the license covering the Blackfeet Reservation will be owned by the Blackfeet Tribe.  Since the auction occurred, Siyeh and RTC have been studying ways to implement this new data service. On May 31, Siyeh submitted a grant application to the Rural Utility Service for funding assistance to implement high-speed wireless internet service to the Heart Butte community.  The partnership is now in the process of studying reservation-wide implementation of improved wireless data service. The partnership is looking for a qualified person in the Browning area who will assist in gathering information and help prepare a comprehensive business plan for presentation to Siyeh Development Corporation, CommunityTel and the reservation communities.  This plan is targeted to be completed by Sept. 1.  This work will involve general business planning, market research and community outreach. The business plan will require a variety of information from a number of sources within these communities, from government and tribal programs, schools, businesses and residents. It is anticipated that there will be many benefits for the Blackfeet Reservation, such as bringing higher quality service, increased employment opportunities for local residents and by retaining resources in the community. BACK Siyeh || Glacier Peaks || StarLink Cable || Blackfeet Heritage Center || Blackfeet Coins Oki Communications || About Siyeh || Honoring Nations || Contact Siyeh Blackfeet Links || Glacier Links || Montana Links || Projects || Wind Energy || Privacy © 2004-08 Siyeh Corporation, Blackfeet Nation, Browning, Montana.   Design by CCC.