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Lac du Flambeau tribe built and will operate its own fiber network, presenter says
Summary
Brian, a UW Extension community development educator, described a tribal‑owned fiber‑to‑the‑home project that secured an NTIA tribal broadband grant, built a network operations center and used contractor workforce plans to hire tribal members; construction is reported nearly complete and the tribe intends to operate the network.
Brian, identified as a UW Extension Community Development Educator working with Lac du Flambeau, recounted a multi‑year effort that culminated in a tribal‑owned fiber‑to‑the‑home network and a network operations center.
"We just need to become our own telecom and owned by the tribe and move this thing forward," Brian said, describing the tribal council's decision to own and operate the network after other partners withdrew and the team pivoted from fixed wireless to fiber.
Project scope and funding: Brian said the tribe won a NTIA Tribal Broadband Connectivity grant and pursued middle‑mile fiber from Fifield (about 37 miles) into Lac du Flambeau, plus fiber‑to‑the‑home construction across three phases. He described a completed network operations center and near‑complete last‑phase construction. On the grant size he referenced, Brian stated an amount from the meeting transcript that reads as approximately $25.66 million (presented in the meeting as "$25,660,167 and $93 grant 93¢ grant"). Given the transcript phrasing, the article presents that figure as the tribe's stated grant size rather than an independently verified number.
Workforce and contracting: Brian described tribal employment plans written into construction RFPs that required contractors to hire tribal members. He named contractors that handled construction and training and said multiple tribal members were employed and trained through the work.
Permits and NEPA: He described permitting steps with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (right‑of‑way and easements), challenges on checkerboard lands where private drives and easements created delays, and an extensive NEPA environmental review (a 400‑page submission), which he said extended the schedule in places but was successfully completed with engineering support.
Why it matters: The project is a concrete example of a tribal entity using federal funding to build and operate local broadband infrastructure, with emphasis on local ownership, workforce development and community control of the network.
Ending: Brian said the tribe intends to close out the grant by the end of December and continue operating as a tribal telecom; task force members congratulated the project team and asked follow‑up questions about hiring and permitting.
