On a chilly morning in January, a group of people gathered near a 290-foot cellular tower to inspect progress on one of five fixed wireless access locations that will connect Chickasaws who live in rural areas with broadband services.
This group gathering at the access location in Ratliff City, Carter County, Oklahoma, included officials from federal National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP), Trace Fiber Networks staff, the Chickasaw Nation Broadband office and others.
The connectivity project is part of the federally funded grant, TBCP, a $3 billion federal program designed to help tribal governments bring reliable, high-speed internet service to First American communities currently lacking access. The Chickasaw Nation was awarded a multimillion-dollar TBCP grant in September 2022.
The multipronged project is being developed and operated by Trace Fiber Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation, with support from the Chickasaw Nation Broadband Office and other tribal departments.
The Carter County project is one component of the overall TBCP grant project in the Chickasaw Nation, Trace Fiber Networks President Josh Snow said.
“We have a fixed wireless portion which consists of five towers covering a large portion of Carter County,” Snow said.
Fixed wireless technology transmits internet signals through the air to receivers installed at homes and businesses within range of each tower, he explained.
In addition to Ratliff City, the fixed wireless portion includes wireless towers at Healdton, Dickson, Lone Grove and Ardmore. Most of the construction at the towers is complete.
“The second project of the grant is fiber-to-the-home, where fiber optic cables
— thin strands of glass that transmit data using light — are run directly to individual homes to provide ultrafast internet connections. The project is in Pontotoc County and is still under construction,” said Snow.
Partnering with People's Electric Cooperative (PEC), Trace Fiber Networks is leveraging grant funding to replace existing wooden poles with new steel climate-resistant poles throughout the rural Pontotoc County area, with Trace Fiber Networks’ fiber optic infrastructure being installed on these future-ready poles designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, he said.
“This infrastructure upgrade is necessary because fiber optic cables must be physically attached to poles to reach homes, and the new steel poles provide a more durable, weather-resistant foundation for the network.”
The two projects will connect more than 2,700 underserved and unserved tribal households and will have the potential to connect many more surrounding households in the future, Snow said.
Federal officials from the tribal broadband program visited the Chickasaw Nation Jan. 14-15 to verify and inspect the progress of the project, including equipment purchased, construction progress and to verify the speeds being offered, Chickasaw Nation Broadband Office Director Jennifer Reyher said.
At the Ratliff City site, contractors from 360 Broadband connected a laptop to the tower’s main equipment hub, successfully testing the wireless internet signal for the first time. In the afternoon, the group visited aerial construction sites in Latta, Oklahoma, to view the progress of the fiber-to-the-home project.
Both projects will help bridge the digital divide in the Chickasaw Nation and help meet the Chickasaw Nation’s mission, “To enhance the overall quality of life of Chickasaw people,” as well as the mission of Trace Fiber Networks, “to ensure that every household in Chickasaw Country is connected to reliable, high-speed internet.”
The projects also involve several organizations, community partners and businesses, providing positive economic development in the Chickasaw Nation, Snow said.
About Trace Fiber Networks, LLC
Trace Fiber Networks, LLC began in 2016 with a discussion about how communities within the Chickasaw Nation could benefit from fiber optic infrastructure, according to Snow.
High speed internet access can provide a positive impact on a small community, from e-commerce and education to health care and agriculture.
Trace Fiber Networks is named to honor the historic 444-mile-long Natchez Trace Parkway in the ancestral Chickasaw Homeland. The Natchez Trace was an important path for commerce and development in Chickasaw history. Trace Fiber is the Chickasaw Nation’s modern version of this historical example, connecting communities and facilitating economic development and opportunity.
For more information, visit TraceFiber.com.