This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Kristan Johnson, Telephone Operations Manager of the Tohono O'odham Utility Authority (TOUA), which provides telephone, electric, water, gas, and Internet service to a large portion of those living throughout the Tohono O'odham Nation in south-central Arizona. Currently, the utility authority serves 4,000 telephone and broadband subscribers. Kristan joins the show to talk about what's like serving as a telephone and Internet service provider for more than two decades at this point, in an extremely rural area. TOUA's plan is to extend new fiber infrastructure to the entirety of the reservation by the end of 2024. To get it done, Kristan says, the utility will use USDA ReConnect Round 3 and other grant funds, as well as internal investment.
She shares with Christopher how the network has been mindful that the devil is in the details, including everything from using modern software platforms to plot both old and new assets, report properly, and manage local politics and member expectations for a public that often doesn't know how the Internet reaches it.
Kristan mentions ArcGIS and we tracked down this information that is related.
The Branch of Geospatial Support of the Bureau of Indian Affairs provides software, support, and training to federally recognized Tribes (employees or and contracted or compacted Tribal employees).
To be eligible for these benefits, the organization must submit an application to participate in the Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) program. The products offered through this program are provided at no cost to ELA participants. Following receipt of the application, applicants can expect to receive a decision within 15 business days.
The software available includes ArcGIS Desktop, Pro, or Enterprise + additional add-on licenses (e.g., 3D Analyst, Spatial Analyst, Geostatistical Analyst, and Network Analyst); Portal for ArcGIS; ArcGIS Online; and ArcGIS Insights.
With or without software downloaded, eligible Tribal entities can register for ESRI-led training online at no cost. These trainings range in experience from introductory courses for those getting started in GIS to managing geospatial data in ArcGIS. Registration for each course opens about one month prior to the course start date.
This show is 26 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed.
Transcript below.
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Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.
Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.