AGRA, OK – Sac and Fox Nation and Centranet LLC broke ground on a $35.8 million dollar fiber project on Friday. Funded by a National Telecommunications and Information Administration grant under the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, the grant will make gigabit internet available throughout all tribal lands of Sac and Fox Nation.
“Broadband will help our people here and in the surrounding communities,” said Lana Butler, Sac and Fox Nation Secretary. “Sac and Fox is looking forward to working with Centranet on this project.”
The Sac and Fox project will be interconnected with Centranet’s full fiber network which serves more than 10,000 subscribers across seven counties in north-central Oklahoma.
“There is great synergy between the Sac and Fox Nation and Centranet,” said Mark Prather, President of Fiber and Technology, Centranet. “Centranet serves much of the Sac and Fox Nation’s tribal lands, and this grant will allow us to expand into areas where broadband service is lacking.”
The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is a $3 billion program directed to tribal governments to be used for broadband deployment on tribal lands, as well as for telehealth, distance learning, broadband affordability, and digital inclusion.
Pictured are Sondra White, Centranet; Sachin Gupta, Centranet; Lana Butler, Sac and Fox Nation Secretary; Jacklyn King, Sac and Fox Nation Tribal Administrator; Boyd Cummings, Sac and Fox Nation IT Director; Hunter Robinson, Centranet; Mark Prather, Centranet.