WASHINGTON - Today, the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that it has awarded 19 grants as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. Andy Berke, NTIA's Special Representative for Broadband, will announce the grants at an event today in the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona.

The grants, totaling nearly $77 million, are being awarded in 10 states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Washington. They will fund internet use and adoption projects to improve healthcare, workforce development, education, housing, and social services in tribal communities. For example, the Gila River Indian Community grant will assist in telehealth expansion, distance learning opportunities and digital inclusion efforts.

More information on these awards is provided in the table below. NTIA has now made a total of 34 awards totaling about $83 million in funding ...