FCC Chairman Pai tours Wyoming reservation broadband project

ETHETE, Wyo. (AP) - A top federal official toured Wyoming's Wind River Reservation to look at efforts to improve internet access for tribal members.

The Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes share the reservation.

The Federal Communications Commission in 2019 announced a $4.1 million grant to boost broadband service to the reservation in central Wyoming.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai toured the reservation Tuesday. Pai tells the Casper Star-Tribune he's heard that more children are now able to do homework at home and more people can now work from h because of the new internet service.me.

The money will help the Northern Arapaho Tribe connect about 850 homes to high-speed internet over the next few years, with plans to eventually connect 3,000 homes.

The project will cost a total of about $12 million.

Pai also planned to tour a Wyoming wind farm and visit with Gov. Mark Gordon and state lawmakers in Cheyenne.