Pass Area Rep Works To Expand Broadband Access In Tribal Locales

PALM DESERT, CA — A Pass Area lawmaker's bill to expand broadband internet access for local tribal communities and across the United States cleared the House of Representatives Tuesday. The Tribal Broadband Deployment Act now heads to the Senate.

The proposal by Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, would direct the Federal Communications Commission to improve broadband access in tribal lands within 30 months. It also seeks an evaluation of broadband coverage in Indian country and solutions to address the "digital divide" that Ruiz said exists in those communities.

Ruiz called the Tribal Broadband Deployment Act a "game changer."

"Throughout the Coachella Valley, the San Jacinto Mountain communities, and the Pass regions of California, rural underdeveloped Tribal lands are spread out among non-tribal communities, both of which are often lacking broadband internet," he said in an emailed statement.

"My bill will bring real resources and opportunities to these areas, improving connectivity and helping to close the digital divide in these historically underserved communities, both of which will benefit," he said. "Expanding internet access will help families, students, workers, and small businesses achieve their goals and grow our local economy."

Ruiz's HR 5007 was ultimately included in HR 4986, or the RAY BAUM''S Act of 2018, according to the congressman's office. Together, the bills would reauthorize and provide updates to the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC — which hasn't happened since 1990.

Ruiz cited an FCC Broadband Deployment Report indicating that 35.4 percent of Americans living on tribal lands lack access to high-speed internet, compared to 2.1 percent of Americans living in urban areas.

— Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone / City News Service contributed to this report