Eureka Times Standard, original publication date: June 4, 2011

Eureka, Calif. — The Yurok Tribe has announced the establishment of a dedicated public safety line for its reservation through recently deployed technology from an Arcata-based company.

According to a press release, the public safety agency shared a single line with the entire reservation, causing communication bottlenecks and slower connections. The new dedicated line, made possible by Carlson Wireless’ white space technology used to bring broadband to rural locations, will allow public safety agencies to access criminal databases and eventually be able to conduct live video training with their firefighters. Support clinics will be able to perform virtual telemedicine and implement an emergency services plan that is completely self-sufficient.

The tribe is the first tribe to utilize the new technology developed by Carlson Wireless.

Jim Norton, broadband manager for the Yurok Tribe, said the project has been dubbed Yurok Connect Project. The project is expected to be completed by this summer.

“It came about essentially as a result of years of frustration experienced by our IT director, Paul Romero, in trying to deliver Internet, networking, and telecommunications services throughout the Yurok offices and education facilities that are spread across the reservation — and in particular, the public safety offices,” Norton said in a press release.

The project serves public safety entities but also provides Internet access for businesses and tribal offices on the reservation, as well as the majority of the Internet-starved population on and surrounding the reservation. Norton estimates that the project will connect approximately 70 to 80 percent of the rural reservation to Internet services.

Funding for the Yurok Connect Project has come from a variety of sources, including the California Consumer Protection Foundation, the California Emergency Management Agency, Public Safety Interoperability (PSIC) grants, and the Infrastructure Protection Grants unit in Sacramento. The majority of the funding came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service Community Connect grant program. 

For more information, see the official release from Carlson Wireless.

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