The USDA’s  Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and FCC are responsible for several  programs designed to improve the nation’s telecommunications  infrastructure. The Recovery Act also directed FCC to develop  a national broadband plan to ensure every American had access to high- speed Internet service. Tribal lands located far from  urban areas may not have middle-mile infrastructure necessary for high- speed Internet deployment to their lands. About Half of Tribes Reported That They Lack the Capacity to Apply for Federal funds or Design High-Speed Internet Networks

About half of the tribes we interviewed told us that a lack of tribal  members with sufficient bureaucratic and technical expertise is a barrier  to increasing high-speed Internet access on tribal lands. FCC has not set a date for the  awarding of these funds. The Community Connect Program provides grants to rural  communities to provide high-speed Internet service to unserved  areas. Our body of work has  shown that interagency coordination can help agencies with interrelated  programs ensure efficient use of resources and effective programs. This could result in an inefficient use of limited federal resources  and missed opportunities for resource leveraging between the two  agencies and cost-savings to the tribes attending training events. FCC Has Not Established Performance Goals and Measures for Internet Availability to or Adoption in Households on Tribal Lands

FCC has made an important distinction between Internet availability and  Internet adoption. Further, FCC’s subsidy programs also seek to increase high- speed Internet access on tribal lands, but the E-rate program lacks  reliable data specific to institutions on tribal lands as well as goals and  performance measures to track the outcomes of efforts on tribal lands. Not defining “tribal” in the E-rate application makes it difficult to measure  the program’s impact on tribal lands as not all E-rate recipients serving  these areas self-identify as tribal. Without such information, it will be  difficult for FCC to determine the extent to which FCC is achieving its  goals. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help improve and measure the availability and adoption of high-speed  Internet on tribal lands, we recommend that the Chairman of the Federal  Communications Commission take the following four actions:
Develop joint outreach and training efforts with USDA whenever  feasible to help improve Internet availability and adoption on tribal  lands;
Develop performance goals and measures using, for example, data  supporting the National Broadband Map, to track progress on  achieving its strategic objective of making broadband Internet  available to households on tribal lands;  Improve the reliability of FCC data related institutions that receive E- Rate funding by defining “tribal” on the program application; and
Develop performance goals and measures to track progress on  achieving its strategic objective of ensuring that all tribal schools and  libraries have affordable access to modern broadband technologies. Regarding our recommendation to develop  performance goals and measures to track tribal schools and libraries  access to broadband, FCC said that its goal is to provide all schools and  libraries with broadband Internet, including tribal schools and libraries and  that its efforts will substantially improve the accessibility of modern  broadband technologies for tribal schools and libraries. This report examines (1) perspectives of selected tribes and  providers on the importance of Internet access for tribes and any barriers  to increasing access to Internet on tribal lands; (2) the level of  interrelation and coordination between federal programs at FCC and  USDA that promote high-speed Internet access on tribal lands; and (3)  existing data and FCC performance goals and measures related to  access to Internet service on tribal lands and for tribal institutions. To determine the level of interrelation and coordination between federal  programs at FCC and USDA that promote high-speed Internet access on  tribal lands, we reviewed FCC and USDA program guidance materials  and program funding for fiscal years 2010 through 2014, interviewed FCC  and USDA officials, and interviewed tribal officials from the selected 21  tribal governments or Alaska Native regions and 6 service providers  about the federal government programs in which they participated.
Why GAO Did This Study

High-speed Internet service is viewed as a critical component of the nation's infrastructure and an economic driver, particularly to remote tribal communities. However, in 2015, FCC reported that the lack of service in tribal areas presents impediments. GAO was asked to review the status of high-speed Internet on tribal lands. The report examines (1) perspectives of tribes and providers on high-speed Internet access and barriers to increasing this access; (2) the level of interrelation and coordination between federal programs that promote high-speed Internet access on tribal lands; and (3) existing data and performance measures related to high-speed Internet on tribal lands. GAO visited or interviewed officials from a non-generalizable sample of 21 tribal entities and 6 service providers selected to provide diversity in size, location, and poverty levels. GAO also reviewed FCC and USDA fiscal year 2010 through 2014 program data, funding, and materials and interviewed federal officials.

What GAO Found

Although all 21 tribes GAO interviewed have some access to high-speed Internet, tribes and providers GAO interviewed cited barriers to increasing access. For example, high poverty rates and the high costs of connecting remote tribal villages to core Internet networks—called middle-mile infrastructure—limit high-speed Internet availability and adoption on tribal lands (see fig.). About half of the tribes GAO interviewed also said that the lack of sufficient administrative and technical expertise among tribal members limits their efforts to increase high-speed Internet access.
The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Universal Service Fund subsidy programs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Utilities Service grant programs are interrelated in that they seek to increase high-speed Internet access in underserved areas, including tribal lands. GAO's previous work on overlap, duplication, and fragmentation has shown that interagency coordination on interrelated programs can help ensure efficient use of resources and effective programs. However, FCC and USDA do not coordinate to develop joint outreach and training. This could result in an inefficient use of federal resources and missed opportunities for resource leveraging between FCC and USDA.
FCC has placed special emphasis on improving Internet access on tribal lands following the issuance of the National Broadband Plan, which called for greater efforts to make broadband available on tribal lands. However, FCC has not developed performance goals and measures for improving high-speed Internet availability to households on tribal lands. Without these goals and measures FCC cannot assess the impact of its efforts. The National Broadband Map includes data on Internet availability on tribal lands that could allow FCC to establish baseline measures for Internet availability on tribal lands. Further, FCC also lacks performance goals and measures for tribal institutions—such as schools and libraries. Specifically, FCC's E-rate program provides funds to ensure that schools and libraries have affordable access to modern broadband technologies, but FCC has not set any performance goals for the program's impact on tribal institutions. Nor has FCC defined “tribal” on the E-rate application. Without such information, it will be difficult to accurately track progress in making broadband available in tribal institutions.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that FCC (1) develop joint training and outreach with USDA; (2) develop performance goals and measures for tribal areas for improving broadband availability to households; (3) develop performance goals and measures for improving broadband availability to tribal schools and libraries; and (4) improve the reliability of FCC data related to institutions that receive E-rate funding by defining “tribal” on the program application. FCC agreed with the recommendations.