Engle

The Yurok Tribe recently launched a telecommunications corporation that will operate within its ancestral territory.

From a Yurok Tribe news release Thursday:

The Yurok Tribe recently launched a telecommunications company to bridge gaps in access to digital and terrestrial communication services a s well as initiate new economic development opportunities within Yurok ancestral territory.

“We formed the Yurok Telecommunications Corporation to resolve longstanding disparities in access to internet and phone services on tribal lands. The standard telecom providers have failed to serve our community, so we decided create a company to provide these essential services ,” said Joseph L. James, the Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “The company will also support the growth of our economy in a manner that is consistent with our values.”

The Yurok Tribal Council selected Yurok Information Service Department Director Je ssica Engle to serve as the Yurok Telecommunications Corporation ’s Chief Executive Officer. During the last four years, Engle has more than quadrupled the size of the Information Services Department, optimized the Tribal government’s use of technology and led the effort to increase access to high speed internet on the Yurok Reservation.

“I am extremely excited about this new role because it will enable me to dedicate my full skill set to serving the Yurok people by improving digital and land based communications in the region,” says Jessica Engle, the CEO of the Yurok Telecommunications Corporation. “I look forward to working with the Yurok community on shaping this new company’s short and long term objectives. The corporation was established to meet the Tribe’s present and future needs

“Jessica’s strong management skills , combined with her technical aptitude and ability to solve complex challenges made her the ideal candidate for the CEO position. We could no t have found a better person to run the Yurok Telecommunications Corporation,” added Chairman James.

The corporation will take over the operations of Yurok Connect, a tribally owned wireless internet service provider.

Incubated within the tribal government, Yurok Connect is currently in the final stages of a project to make an affordable, high speed internet available for the first time on many parts of the Yurok Reservation. One of only a handful of tribally owed internet service providers, Yurok Connect is installing cutting edge wireless broadband equipment and new towers between the coast and the Tribe’s inland border at Weitchpec.

To further fortify Yurok Connect’s network Engle is working with the Karuk Tribe to install nearly 104 miles of fiber optic cable from Orleans to Wautec and Tulley Creek to Orick then heading south to McKinleyville The project is currently in the environmental review stage, which is one the last steps before construction can begin. In addition to improving emergency communications during and after the COVID-19 crisis, these projects will offer many community members an ability to participate in distance learning, virtual healthcare and e-commerce.

During the pandemic, the federal government made its first attempt to address enduring inequalities in the quality and quantity of telecommunications infrastructure on tribal lands. Developed by the Biden-Harris Administration and passed by congress, the American Rescue Plan Act included $1 billion for tribal broadband projects. Each federally recognized tribe in the US is eligible to apply for broadband use and adoption projects ranging from $500,000 to $2.5 million and infrastructure projects ranging from $1 million to $50 million.

Yurok Telecommunications Corporation CEO Engle is applying for much-needed, American Rescue Plan funds to expand the Yurok Connect network and address unresolved communications needs in Yurok Country. For example, there is no landline telephone service on the upriver half of the reservation and businesses along the US Highway 101 corridor from Orick to Wilson Creek have never had access to reliable high-speed internet.

If approved, the Yurok Telecommunications Corporation will use a portion of these funds to construct a fiber optic line from Orick to Crescent City. Once it is complete, local enterprises owned by Yurok citizens and non-Indians on Highway 101 will be able to take advantage of the Yurok Connect-administered, fast internet service. The corporation also plans to use the funds to create Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the Yurok Reservation, a low-income internet assistance program and a training to teach more local people how to install broadband infrastructure. The federal funds will be invested in several other important initiatives too.

Coupled with increasing internet access, the Yurok Telecommunications Corporation was established to enhance cellular and landline phone services and electrical infrastructure on the reservation, much of which lacks cellphone and standard phone services.

While the last big villages received electricity in 2018, many homes are still not connected to the conventional power grid, which is another injustice the Yurok Telecommunications Company was created to correct. Initiated by Engle when she was the Tribe’s Information Services Director, the recently built Yurok Connect towers were designed to hold cellular carrier colocations.

As the Information Services Director, Engle also introduced many new and emerging technologies to make the tribal government more efficient. She created a virtual server environment with off-site disaster recovery and regular backups, which enabled nearly 600 tribal employees to maintain maximum productivity while working remotely due the pandemic. Ranging from its new industry-standard equipment to its customer service, Engle also significantly expanded the Yurok Connect business and established a program to make high-speed internet free to nearly all reservation residents for an entire year.

“I chose this line of work because I believe everyone should have access to quality internet, power and phone services, not to mention meaningful employment opportunities. The Yurok Telecommunications position will allow me to be a part of the solution to these longstanding issues. It is truly a privilege to do this work in such a beautiful place, with such amazing people,” concluded Yurok Telecommunications Corporation CEO Engle.

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