Tlingit & Haida welcomed Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Information and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Arielle Roth to Wrangell, Alaska for a firsthand look at Tidal Network’s broadband infrastructure and efforts to expand connectivity across Southeast Alaska. 

Roth was joined by NTIA officials, including Doug Kinkoph, Associate Administrator of NTIA’s Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, and representatives from the offices of U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan. The delegation toured Tidal Network’s Wrangell telecommunications infrastructure, which included Tlingit & Haida’s first owned and constructed telecommunications tower, funded through NTIA’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.  

While in Southeast Alaska, Roth also met with Tlingit & Haida President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center in Juneau to learn about Tlingit & Haida’s co-stewardship work and partnership in managing traditional homelands. 

During the tour, Tidal Network shared how it combines Tribal 2.5 GHz spectrum, fixed wireless technology and LEO backhaul to overcome the geographic challenges of delivering broadband in rural Southeast Alaska. 

The visits provided an opportunity to highlight Tlingit & Haida’s work across broadband, stewardship and other initiatives that support Tribal communities throughout Southeast Alaska.