Friday, May 6 2011 8:04AM
With help from the USDA, the Confederated Tribe of Warm Springs, Oregon, now has telecommunications lines set up.
With help from the USDA's Rural Development Community Connect grant program, the Confederated Tribe of Warm Springs, Oregon, was able to work alongside telecommunications companies to install telephone and internet lines.
After the tribe received nearly $700,000 to develop phone and internet capabilities in 2002, a 24/7 connection was made available to tribe members. Eight years later, $5.4 million in USDA grants was given to the tribe to create broadband connections.
By adding these lines, unemployment figures among reservation members are expected to drop, and students there can take courses online, as travel for many of them is difficult. Additionally, the rural development is expected to help other businesses and health facilities on the reservation modernize their practices.
To maintain the phone and internet services for tribe members, the USDA says the Warm Springs Telecommunications Company, made up of local engineers, was founded, and that the company should be fully operational by fall 2011.
Regarding the efforts in Warm Springs, USDA Rural Development state director Vicki Walker said, "We are very excited to see this project advance to the next level. It will help drive economic development in the community for years to come."