Monthly Archives: September 2023

Minnesota schools receive Emergency Connectivity Funding from the FCC

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The FCC reports…

The Federal Communications Commission today announced it is committing over $40.8 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students in communities across the country.  Today’s funding commitment supports applications from the third application window, benefitting approximately 110,000 students nationwide, including students in Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Utah, and Washington. …

Today’s announcement will support approximately 220 schools and school districts, 7 libraries and library systems, and 3 consortia.  The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework, and online learning programs to ensure students across the country have the necessary support to keep up with their education.  More details about which schools and libraries have received funding commitments can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-connectivity-fund.

Launched in 2021, the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program has provided schools and libraries three different “application windows” to apply for support.  Approximately $6.99 billion in funding commitments have been approved to date, approximately $4.14 billion is supporting applications from Window 1; $834 million from Window 2; and $2.02 billion from Window 3.  To date, the funding has provided support to over 18 million students, 11,300 schools, 1,060 libraries, and 120 consortia, and provided nearly 13 million connected devices and over 8 million broadband connections.

The following organization in Minnesota got funding:

  • KASSON-MANTORVILLE DIST 204
    • School District
    • KASSON
  • STEWARTVILLE SCHOOL DIST 534
    • School District
    • STEWARTVILLE
  • Three Rivers Community Action Head Start
    • School
    • ZUMBROTA
  • PIM Arts High School
    • School District
    • EDEN PRAIRIE
  • ROSEVILLE AREA SCHOOL DIST 623
    • School District
    • ROSEVILLE
  • MAHTOMEDI SCHOOL DISTRICT 832
    • School District
    • MAHTOMEDI
  • MATH AND SCIENCE ACADEMY
    • School
    • WOODBURY
  • SPRING LAKE PK IND SCH DIST 16
    • School District
    • SPRING LAKE PARK
  • ST HELENA CATHOLIC SCHOOL
    • School
    • MINNEAPOLIS
  • MINNEHAHA ACADEMY NORTH
    • School
    • MINNEAPOLIS
  • WATERTOWN-MAYER SCH DIST 111
    • School District
    • WATERTOWN
  • SARTELL – ST STEPHEN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 748
    • School District
    • SARTELL
  • HERMANTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT 700
    • School District
    • HERMANTOWN
  • ESKO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT 99
    • School District
    • ESKO

 

Comparing MN vs US farm access and use of broadband

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The USDA reports on technology Use for farmers looking at farm computer usage and ownership…

Nationally, 85 percent of farms reported having access to the internet. In 2023, 32 percent of farms used the internet to purchase agricultural inputs, which was an increase of 3 percent from 2021. Additionally, 23 percent of farms used the internet to market agricultural activities, which was an increase of 2 percent from 2021. Farms which conducted business with non-agricultural websites in 2023 increased by 2 percent to 49 percent.

In 2023, 51 percent of internet connected farms utilized a broadband connection while 75 percent of internet connected farms had access through a cellular data plan. Additionally, 69 percent of farms had a desktop or laptop computer while 82 percent of farms had a smart phone.

And here’s how Minnesota compares to US stats. (I’m only looking at the 2023 info, but 2021 is also in the report if you wanted to compare impact of time.)

Own/use desktop or laptop

  • National 69 percent
  • MN 70 percent

Own/use a smartphone

  • National 82 percent
  • MN 85 percent

Own/use a device

  • National 32 percent
  • MN 30 percent

Own/use another sort of computer

  • National 2 percent
  • MN 1 percent

Access to broadband

  • National 85 percent
  • MN 86 percent

Purchase agricultural inputs over internet

  • National 32 percent
  • MN 31 percent

Conduct agricultural marketing activities over internet

  • National 23 percent
  • MN 34 percent

Conduct business with any non-agricultural website

  • National 49 percent
  • MN 63 percent

Type of broadband:

Dialup

  • National 22 percent
  • MN 2 percent

DSL/Fiber/Cable

  • National 51 percent
  • MN 52 percent

Cellular

  • National 75 percent
  • MN 79 percent

Satellite

  • National 23 percent
  • MN 23 percent

Other

  • National 2 percent
  • MN less than 1 percent

Using precision agriculture practices to manage crops or livestock

  • National 27 percent
  • MN less than 32 percent

MN PUC meeting on LTD Broadband certification for CAFII: video and notes

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The MN PUC today met to discuss LTD Broadband’s annual Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETC) certification related to CAFII funding. I’ll paste my notes (however scattered) and related background information below. The quick take is that the MN PUC wanted to decide on a number of items (listed directly below). They agreed on options 1,3,4,6 and 8, with some modification on number 4. The main change would be adding a note to indicate that the MN PUC is only recertifying the ETC for this purpose. Not in light with anything happening with LTD Broadband and RDOF money.

Does the Commission have sufficient documentation through the filed FCC form 481 to be assured that the high cost funds received by each ETCs have been, and will be, used for their intended purpose, pursuant to 47 C.F.R. 54.314?

1.Certify all companies as indicated in Tables 1, 2, and 4 of Attachment A of the staff briefing papers (Department).

OR

  1. Recertify all companies as indicated in Tables 1, 2, and 4 of Attachment A of the staff briefing papers except for the following, which shall not be recertified: [specify any ETCs that are not being recertified].

AND

  1. Provide USAC with a list of carriers (including their SACs) that should be certified in a letter to the FCC (Department). Should the Commission certify LTD Broadband for CAF II Funding Program?

Should the Commission certify LTD Broadband for CAF II Funding Program?

  1. Certify LTD Broadband to continue to receive CAF II funding as was done by the Commission in Docket No. P999/PR-22-8.

OR
5. Do not certify LTD Broadband to continue to receive CAF II funding and defer certification on this carrier (Department). Should the Commission order all high-cost funding program ETCs to submit Performance Measure (PM) Testing results with all future 481 filings?

Should the Commission order high cost funding program ETCs to submit Performance Measure (PM) Testing results with all future 481 filings?

6. Require all high-cost funding recipients to submit Performance Measure (PM) Testing results with all future 481 filings (Department).
OR
7. Do not require all high-cost funding recipients to submit Performance Measure (PM) Testing results with all future 481 filings. Should the Commission continue to require quarterly filings of Tribal engagement from the ETCs consistent with the requirements in the Commission’s October 21, 2021 and November 8, 2022 Orders?

Should the Commission continue to require quarterly filings of Tribal engagement from the ETCs consistent with the requirements in the Commission’s Oct 21, 2021 and Nov 8, 2022 orders?
8. Continue to require quarterly filings of Tribal engagement from the ETCs consistent with the requirements in the Commission’s October 21, 2021 and November 8, 2022 Orders. (Department)

(You can related materials on the MN PUC site.)

More notes: Continue reading →

Office of Broadband Development visits Two Harbors: some people waiting 15 years for infrastructure

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I’ve been mentioning the Office of Broadband Development’s tour of communities to get feedback on their Digital Opportunity Plan. They were recently in Two Harbors and local media outlet WDIO (ABC) reported on the visit…

Throughout their previous stops around the state, there are common things that residents are sharing, and some have a lot in common. “Some individuals don’t have the infrastructure when it comes to infrastructure for these services. People have been waiting for up to fifteen years for infrastructure. Beyond that, we’ve had a good amount of professionals, whether governmental or nongovernmental community services professionals who share with us the need for digital navigators. Those are people that teach skills one to one with communities or public people who need digital and broadband help.”

Throughout their previous stops around the state, there are common things that residents are sharing, and some have a lot in common. “Some individuals don’t have the infrastructure when it comes to infrastructure for these services. People have been waiting for up to fifteen years for infrastructure. Beyond that, we’ve had a good amount of professionals, whether governmental or nongovernmental community services professionals who share with us the need for digital navigators. Those are people that teach skills one to one with communities or public people who need digital and broadband help.”

Why don’t folks in Indiana have home broadband subscriptions?

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The folks at Purdue University always do a great job with broadband research and surveys. They recently asked folks who don’t have a home connection why they don’t. There may be some regional differences but I feel like it’s helpful to see the results.

Today, we take a close look at the reasons why 12.4% of Indiana survey respondents did not pay for home internet for any of the previous 12 months. Reasons included in the survey were grouped into affordability, availability, alternatives/skills, and privacy/relevance. Figure 1 breaks down each group and the percentage of survey respondents citing a “big” reason (options included not a reason, small reason, medium reason, and big reason) for not paying for home internet at all over the previous 12 months.

Interesting also to look at how the covered populations (to borrow from at NTIA term) differed in their answers…

Among rural survey respondents, 42.2% said home internet costs too much followed by 38.9% saying they could not get it installed. This confirms lack of broadband access in rural areas is a barrier since less than 10% of urban survey respondents (not shown) cited this reason.

LTD Broadband’s ETC designation no longer on MN PUC meeting agenda for Sep 21

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According to the MN PUC latest agenda for the Sep 21 meeting, LTD Broadband’s ETC designation has been removed from the agenda. But they will still be looking at Local Exchange Carriers; Eligible Telecommunications Carrier. Here’s the full agenda.

  1. INTRODUCTION DECISION ITEMS 1. Details 2022-105
    PULLED
    ** P558,6995/M-22-221; LTD Broadband;
    P6995/M-21-133 Minnesota Rural Electric Association; Minnesota Telecom Alliance
    In the Matter of a Petition to Initiate a Proceeding to Revoke the Expanded Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (“ETC”) Designation of LTD Broadband, LLC (“LTD”) and Deny LTD’s Funding Certification for 2023.
    1. Should the Commission lift the January 18, 2023, stay of this proceeding issued by the ALJ?
    2. Should the Commission grant the MREA and MTA’s (Petitioners’) motion to suspend LTD’s RDOF ETC designation previously granted by the Commission? (PUC: Fournier, McShane)
  2. Details 2021-061
    ** E002/M-20-711 Xcel Energy
    In the Matter of Xcel Energy’s Petition for Approval of a Multi-Dwelling Unit Electric Vehicle Pilot Program.
    Should the Commission approve the expanded Multi-Dwelling Unit EV Service Pilot budget set forth in Xcel Energy’s August 18, 2023, Letter? (PUC: Terwilliger) 3. Details 2023-144 ** E002/M-22-403 Xcel Energy In the Matter of Xcel Energy’s 2022 Solar Portfolio. Should the Commission approve the Sherco Solar 3 Project and Apple River Solar Power Purchase Agreement? (PUC: Stalpes, Terwilliger

The following item will not be heard before 10:00am.

  1. Details 2023-143
    ** P999/PR-23-8
    Local Exchange Carriers; Eligible Telecommunications Carriers
    In the Matter of Annual Certification Related to Eligible Telecommunications Carriers’ (ETCs) Use of the Federal Universal Service Support Required Pursuant to C.F.R. 54.313.
    Does the Commission have sufficient documentation through the filed FCC Form 481 to be assured that the high-cost funds received by each ETCs have been, and will be, used for their intended purpose, pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 54.314? (PUC: Fournier

 

MN Broadband Task Force Sep 2023: Introductions and rules of engagement

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This is the fist meeting of the new iteration of the MN Broadband Task Force. It feels a lot like the first day of school. Lots of introductions and talks about how things happen, rules and a basic history of what’s happened in the past and goals moving forward. There’s a practical lesson on how the MN Legislature works.

Sounds like there’s no plan for a report in 2023 but that the Task Force might just submit a letter with recommendations.

Task Force members present introduced themselves. I didn’t include a lot of bio information but I did provide links when I could. I did take note of why folks have joined the Task Force.

  • Tewodros (Teddy) Bekele (Senior VP/CTO, Land O’Lakes) – how do we get technology in the hands of out members?  Can we get MN to 100 percent covered? 25/3 is probably achievable – but 100/20 is even better. Lack of broadband stops progress.
  • Marc Johnson (Executive Director, East Central Minnesota Educational Cable Cooperative) – I’m here for education. I’ve been doing this for 15 years. This is my second term on the Task Force. There’s unfinished business. We need to serve everyone with education and ubiquitous broadband makes that easier.
  • Adam Hutchens (Marketing Representative, Laborers’ International Union of North America) – we went all digital during the pandemic, which meant we lost contact to much of our membership. I want to collaborate and learn.
  • Steve Fenske (General Counsel, Minnesota Association of Townships) – our members are not connected. Broadband is as important to us as roads. Second time on the task force. This is a fairness issue.
  • Paul McDonald (Board Chair, St. Louis County Commissioners) – we live in a hard to build place. We’re built on rock. We need better speed. 25/3 doesn’t work today. We invested at county level with $5 million cap funding. Townships have invest ARAP funds. I want to learn more. We need broadband in every home.
  • Ini Augustine (Chief Executive Officer, Technologist Computers) – represent people who are digitally redlined. Want to learn about the structure that allows redlining to happen. Founder of Black broadband summit. The Digital divide is the new Jim Crow. November 13 is next broadband summit.
  • Bruce Crane (Area Vice-President, Communications Workers of America) – on the national CWA broadband task force. Working on broadband for all. DEED funding will bring $650M to broadband we want to see high level labor standards
  • David Wolf (CEO, Gardonville Coop Telephone Association) – representing rural service providers – want to work with everyone to meet goals
  • Gail Hedstrom (Director of the Fergus Falls Public Library) – I’ve seen disparities lack of access brings. Lack of broadband leads to lack of tech skills. I see people in their 30s who don’t have email addresses.

You can see the full list of members on the OBD website.

Presentation from Office of Broadband Development

It’s an overview of what ODB does and information on the funding available including the border to border grants, low density grants, BEAD, IIJA and Digital Equity Funds.

 

Question on Challenge process: has OBD been involved in promoting the challenge process?
We have been trying. We spoke with MTA and have been talking with counties. We promoted individuals doing challenges early on. Counties have a wide range of tools to lead a challenge effort. We now have a GIS person on staff and that might help.
Is there funding to support the extra work to do challenges?
Not with out planning funds. There were microgrants for the Digital Equity Plan development but not for challenges.
We do have money for mapping. Many issues have arisen since July. We could look at budget modifications – but there probably won’t be a lot of capacity.
There should be a mechanism to fund the challenge support.
NTIA funding is based on FCC mapping – so BEAD funding has to serve the initially recognized unserved areas first. We know that this BEAD money is not enough.

Open Meeting Law

Legislative Process from Devin Bowdry, DEED Government Relations Coordinator

NTIA Update from Tom Karst, Federal Program Officer, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth

Definition of served: You must have wired or licensed fixed wireless connection and speeds of at least 25 Mbps down and 3 up

Carlos MN gets FTTH through Spectrum (Douglas County)

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Charter Communications reports…

Spectrum recently celebrated completion of a network expansion project to bring its advanced fiber-optic network to more than 350 homes and small businesses in the Town of Carlos, Minnesota.

The project was supported by a $1.1 million investment from Spectrum.

“Our partnership with the City of Carlos allows us to bring gigabit broadband and Spectrum services to more residential and small business customers residing in rural areas,” said Mike Jorgensen, Spectrum Area Vice President in Minnesota. “With construction complete, we can now provide high-value broadband, mobile, TV and voice services to City of Carlos residents.” …

Spectrum Internet delivers speeds up to 1 Gbps and Advanced WiFi for both residential customers and small business clients, featuring starting speeds of 300 Mbps, with no modem fees, data caps or contracts. Spectrum Business Internet offers its clients plans with starting download speeds of 300 Mbps, with 600 Mbps and 1 Gbps options.

FCC broadband maps might not capture reality of cellular fixed wireless access degradation

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Borrowing from my smart friend Doug Dawson as he writes about cellular fixed wireless access (FWA) networks. The super quick version is that cellular FWA broadband speeds degrade much like the old DSL technology does. The farther you are from the tower, the greater degradation. The FCC doesn’t reflect the degradation accurately, which could have a unintended consequences when maps are used to distribute federal funding…

The map below shows a lot of speed tests from Verizon tower in a suburban county. The yellow dots on the map are the locations of actual speed tests. The colored circles on the map show the distance from a cell tower – with purple showing locations within a mile of the tower, red showing locations between 1 and 2 miles, blue/greed showing speed tests within 2 and 3 miles, and the surrounding white areas at more than 3 miles. I didn’t cherry-pick this particular tower as the best example – there are more than a dozen other Verizon towers in the same county that show similar speed test results. I must note that speed tests are not a prefect indicator of broadband performance, and there might be explanations behind some of the slower readings. But I have to think that seeing this same speed pattern around multiple tower sites is a good indication that this is how the technology works.

This map demonstrates what the farmer told me to a tee. There are some locations close to the tower getting 300 Mbps. Customers just over a mile from the tower are getting slower speeds, with the highlighted ones around 75 Mbps. By the third mile band, speeds have dropped a lot closer to 25 Mbps download, and outside the three-mile circle, speeds drop significantly. There is no easy way to tell if the customers with slower speeds are buying FWA wireless, which uses the spectrum that Verizon labels as 5G, or the older Verizon hotspots that use traditional LTE spectrum.

On the FCC map in this county, Verizon reports two speeds – 300 Mbps or 50 Mbps. It’s not easy to understand how Verizon makes the distinction, but it seems like locations for a fairly good distance around towers are claimed at 300 Mbps.

Somebody who doesn’t understand the FCC mapping rules might think that Verizon is breaking the rules by reporting 300 Mbps speeds in places where actual speeds are a lot lower. But the FCC allows ISPs to report marketing speeds for the FCC maps as long as Verizon is advertising the claimed speeds. But that doesn’t mean that the Verizon FCC reporting is ethical. Customers who might refer to the FCC map when looking for an ISP, or customers that see Verizon advertising are hoping to get something close to the 300 Mbps speed – and many will not.

I have some major concerns about cellular FWA technology related to the upcoming BEAD grants. First, any state broadband grant offices that accept the claimed Verizon speeds in the FCC mapping might not award any grants where a fast FWA speed is claimed. That would be a travesty if folks who can’t get speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps with FWA are denied another broadband option.

Celebrate Adult Education and Family Literacy Week

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The National Coalition for Literacy has a host of resources for Adult Education and Family Literacy Week…

National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week raises public awareness about the need for and value of adult education and family literacy. Its goal is to increase financial and societal support for access to basic education programs for U.S. adults with low literacy, numeracy, and digital skills. Advocates across the country use this opportunity to elevate adult education and family literacy nationwide with policymakers, the media, and the community.

It’s an opportunity to show people how to better use technology and an opportunity to show that technology is a bridge to more lessons.

Update on MN PUC and LTD Broadband: customer to be informed of opportunity for comment

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The MN PUC (Public Utilities Commission) is holding a meeting on September 21 to further discuss looking at revoking the Eligible Telecommunications Carrier designation of LTD Broadband. S, I’m sure we’ll know more after it. (If this story is new to you, you can learn more.) In the meantime, the Office of the Attorney General has made a recommendation…

In its August 11 comments, the Minnesota Department of Commerce articulated three recommendations for Commission consideration. First, the Department recommended that the Commission lift the stay imposed by the Administrative Law Judge to ensure timely resolution of this matter.1 Second, relying on the analysis of its retained engineering expert, the Department recommended that the Commission suspend LTD Broadband’s expanded ETC designation until the issue is permanently resolved through the contested case.2 Third, the Department recommended that the Commission require LTD to include bill messages advising customers that they may contact CAO with complaints.3 Because this third recommendation is not reflected in the filed decision options, the Department proposes the following additional decision option: 6. Require LTD to provide notification to its Minnesota customers that they may contact the Consumer Affairs Office (CAO) with questions or concerns, or to provide public comment. Delegate authority to the Executive Secretary to approve the content, format, and timing of the customer notice.

OPPORTUNITY: State funding available for assistive technology for older folks and folks with disabilities

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Unrelated to the broadband world, I was lucky enough to volunteer for a Native American Elder Picnic in Minneapolis last week. There were booths set up to promote different opportunities; one of the booths was LiveLife Therapy Solutions. They were talking to folks about assistive technology available to make it easier for elders (and others) to stay in their homes longer. These services can be made available through state funding. Learn more in the video:

It seems like these tools could be a good entry point for older folks and folks with disabilities to start using technology.

The event was also an opportunity for me to talk with folks who aren’t big technology users. I spoke to one gentleman who has an email address but only accesses it when he’s in the library. He’s in Anoka County. He has the skills to use broadband but lack of device and cost that are his barriers.

I also learned that bingo is a hot seller to elders. That might be helpful to folks looking to get elders in the room for any technology related programming. Or turning devices into bingo prizes might be a way to get them to people who need them.

Do recent rules disadvantage smaller broadband providers?

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The Institute for Local Self Reliance reports…

A massive coalition of more than 300 broadband policy experts and organizations have written a letter to the U.S. government, warning that smaller broadband providers, nonprofits, and municipalities will be elbowed out of an historic $42.45 billion broadband grant program without some notable changes to program rules.

At the heart of their concerns sits the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, made possible by the recently passed infrastructure bill, and administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The grant program is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put a significant dent in America’s longstanding digital divide.

But BEAD program rules currently require grant recipients to obtain a letter of credit (LOC) from a bank, collateralized by cash or cash-equivalent. They also require grant winners to provide “matching funds of not less than 25 percent of project costs,” though the latter restriction can be waived in some high deployment cost areas.

While the restrictions were intended to reduce the risk of project failure (a touchy subject for the government in the wake of problems with the FCC’s RDOF program), they require grant recipients to lock away vast and untouchable sums of capital for the duration of any broadband build, most of which last several years.

According to the coalition’s letter to lawmakers, such requirements present unnecessary obstacles for smaller ISPs and cash-strapped municipalities, undermining the infrastructure bill’s goal of equitable, affordable broadband for all.

“With the additional 25 percent match requirement, recipients will have a capital hurdle of more than 60 percent of their grant,” the coalition wrote. “We estimate a provider seeking a $7.5 million grant for a $10 million project will need at least $4.6 million of their own capital up-front.”

It is worth reading the full article. It’s worth looking at these issues now. Iin 2020, six of the top ten ranked counties in Minnesota were served by cooperatives; those six are rural counties. There are unique opportunities for local providers to serve areas such as rural counties where a desire to invest in the community as well as the business. It would be a shame to disadvantage those providers.

EVENT Sep 19: MN Broadband Task Force Sep meeting (first of new iteration)

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From the Office of Broadband Development…

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
10:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

DEED Headquarters
Great Northern Building
12th Floor – St. Peter Room
180 East Fifth Street
St. Paul, MN  55101-1678

OR

Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only)

+1 651-395-7448,,651985795#   United States, St. Paul

Phone Conference ID: 651 985 795#

Find a local number | Reset PIN

Learn More | Meeting options

 10:00 a.m. – 10:05 a.m.  Welcome and Introductions – Teddy Bekele, Chair, Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
10:05 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – Introductions and Comments from all Task Force Members
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.  Break
11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Broadband Overview from Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development, Minnesota Department of Economic Development
11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. – Open Meeting Law from Taya Moxley-Goldsmith, Director of the Data Practices Office,  Minnesota Department of Administration
11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Legislative Process from Devin Bowdry, DEED Government Relations Coordinator
12:00 p.m. – 12:10 p.m.  NTIA Update from Tom Karst, Federal Program Officer, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth
12:10 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. Public Comment, Other Business, November 30th Meeting Plans, Wrap-up

Arvig celebrates Lifeline Awareness Week with info on broadband assistance for households

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The Pilot Independent reports…

Arvig is committed to providing resources that make high-speed internet accessible to everyone. Part of that commitment includes participating in Lifeline Awareness Week to promote Lifeline Program discounts that help residents access broadband services.

Under the federal Lifeline Program, low-income residents who participate in certain public assistance programs, or qualify based on income, can receive a discount of up to $9.25 per month off their monthly broadband-qualifying service bill; up to $5.25 off their voice-qualifying service bill; and residents on Tribal lands can qualify for up to an additional $34.25 per month.

More information on program eligibility and rules are available at www.lifelinesupport.org.

A video in American Sign Language about Lifeline is available at: