Ute Mountain Ute Tribe brings high-speed fiber internet to Towaoc, White Mesa

Free fiber hookups have begun in Towaoc and White Mesa, bringing a faster internet line into homes that have long relied on slower, less reliable connections. The upgrade is aimed at the basics of daily life, telehealth visits, homework access, job applications and emergency alerts.

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe said crews were starting with the outside equipment needed to connect each house to the new network. Technicians are mounting a network interface device on homes first, then returning later this summer to install indoor equipment, including a router, at no cost to residents. Households that skip installation during this phase could face future charges of $1,500 or more.

The build is bigger than a neighborhood upgrade. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration says the project will install two middle-mile routes across non-contiguous tribal lands in two states and last-mile fiber-to-the-premise service in White Mesa, directly connecting about 817 unserved Native American households, 7 unserved Tribal businesses and 36 unserved community anchor institutions. The planned service range runs from 200 Mbps symmetrical to 1 Gbps symmetrical, a jump that should make it possible to upload schoolwork, move medical records and handle remote meetings without the bottlenecks many rural users still know too well.

The project also reaches beyond White Mesa. Colorado broadband grant records show a 2021 award of $3,451,170.96 to the Ute Mountain Tribe and Ute Mountain Communications Enterprise for UMCE Towaoc, while the NTIA lists a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program award of $22,727,873.52. The tribe’s FY23 fourth-quarter report to NTIA said NEO Fiber, Inc. was the lead consultant, with spending so far focused on design, engineering, project management, consulting services and grant compliance.

For Dolores County and nearby communities, the project lands in a region where broadband has become part of the economic infrastructure, not a luxury. Reliable service affects whether families can schedule care, students can turn in assignments, and ranching or small-business operations can keep records and respond to markets. Colorado broadband officials have said the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute tribes have been on the wrong side of the digital divide for far too long, even as the state pursues a goal of connecting 99% of Colorado households to high-speed broadband by the end of 2027.