The MCN tribal broadband connectivity project award will provide funding to serve the counties of mcintosh, okfuskee, hughes, and okmulgee

As outlined in ntias funding opportunity notice, the purpose of the grant program is to expand access to and adoption of broadband service on tribal land; or programs that promote the use of broadband to access remote learning, telework, or telehealth resources. This project will directly benefit the tribal communities within the muscogee (creek) nation reservation. Muscogee (creek) nation is a self-governed native american tribe with an eleven-county jurisdictional area in northeast oklahoma. The tribal headquarters is located in okmulgee, oklahoma. MCN is one of the 5 civilized tribes and is the fourth largest tribe in the U.S. With 100,380 citizens. The muscogee (creek) nation has diligently provided support to their distressed communities facing economic challenges in rural areas. Many of these communities have no broadband or mobile connectivity, or the existing services are insufficient for meeting current communication and technological needs. Current broadband services provide a patchwork of coverage, often at high costs, and unreliable connectivity. Varying technologies make existing broadband options inconsistent in their capabilities and can result in subscribers being locked into contracts for services that cannot meet their connectivity needs. Additionally, many citizens have no viable option for broadband at their homes, forcing them to drive long distances to access the internet using public WI-FI at various businesses.