Digital Navigator Services
Fund trained digital navigators who help households sign up for service, access devices, use online tools, and build digital confidence.
Make Your NTIA Grant Strategy Clear, Competitive, and Application-Ready.
Native Network helps Tribes, Nations, and Pueblos understand eligible uses, shape the right project, and prepare grant applications with confidence.
Native Network has broken down the NTIA Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program Round 3 and the Native Entities Grant Program into clear, practical funding pathways. Our team helps you translate broadband goals into eligible activities, organize documentation, align project scope with grant requirements, and build a stronger narrative for successful submission.
Grant Fund Use Categories
Three practical ways to turn funding into broadband impact.
Use & Adoption projects focus on helping Tribal members, households, businesses, elders, students, and community institutions meaningfully access, afford, and use broadband services. These activities are especially valuable where broadband service is available or being deployed, but adoption barriers remain due to cost, digital skills gaps, limited devices, lack of awareness, or lack of local technical support.
Broadband Adoption Campaigns
Develop community-facing outreach that explains the value of broadband for education, telehealth, employment, entrepreneurship, public services, and family connectivity.
Community Outreach & Enrollment
Support enrollment fairs, one-on-one assistance, community events, and household support to help residents subscribe to service and available affordability programs.
Broadband Affordability Management
Create a structured affordability program to compare available plans, coordinate with providers, track eligibility, and help prevent disconnections where allowable.
Workforce Development & Technical Training
Provide training for broadband construction, fiber installation, wireless deployment, network operations, customer support, cybersecurity, and help desk roles.
Subscriber Onboarding
Create a formal onboarding process so subscribers understand service, equipment, billing, Wi-Fi setup, online portals, support channels, and account expectations.
Subscriber Subsidies
Provide free or reduced-cost broadband service to eligible households through a properly structured program paid directly to the service provider.
OSS/BSS for Program Administration
Fund systems that help administer customer enrollment, subsidy tracking, billing, reporting, service tickets, and program compliance.
Community Technology Center Support
Support computer labs, libraries, elder centers, learning centers, workforce centers, and other Tribal facilities where residents can access broadband-enabled services.
Broadband Sustainability Planning
Develop a plan for keeping adoption programs, digital literacy services, affordability support, and operational systems viable beyond the grant period.
Digital Literacy Training Programs
Provide beginner through advanced digital skills training including basic computer use, online safety, email, video conferencing, telehealth, online learning, and public services.
Learn-to-Earn Device Programs
Provide approved computing devices to eligible participants who complete required digital skills training tied to measurable learning outcomes.
Tribal Digital Inclusion Coordinators
Fund staff responsible for coordinating digital inclusion, outreach, training, device programs, data collection, partnerships, and performance reporting.
Device Refurbishment & Redistribution Programs
Acquire, refurbish, configure, secure, and distribute laptops or tablets to eligible Tribal households with tracking and support procedures.
Telehealth Access Support
Help residents access telehealth through training, technical assistance, private access spaces, devices, connectivity support, and appointment navigation.
Distance Learning Support
Support students, adult learners, and families with online education tools, virtual tutoring, digital homework support, and training for caregivers.
Small Business Digital Transformation Assistance
Help Tribal entrepreneurs and businesses use e-commerce, online payments, digital marketing, cloud tools, bookkeeping software, and cybersecurity tools.
Tribal Government Digital Services Adoption
Support community use of online Tribal portals, permitting, payments, emergency alerts, enrollment services, public meetings, and digital government services.
Cybersecurity Awareness Education
Provide community training on phishing prevention, password security, privacy, fraud prevention, device protection, and safe internet practices.
Broadband Adoption Data Collection & Program Evaluation
Conduct surveys, usage tracking, focus groups, participant evaluations, and outcome reporting to measure adoption barriers and community impact.
Broadband Infrastructure projects focus on building, expanding, improving, or acquiring broadband facilities and telecommunications equipment needed to provide qualifying broadband service. These projects are most appropriate when Tribal households, businesses, and community anchor institutions remain unserved or lack access to reliable broadband service.
Fiber-to-the-Home Construction
Deploy fiber optic infrastructure directly to homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions on Tribal lands.
Last-Mile Broadband Deployment
Build final network connections that deliver broadband service from network facilities to homes, businesses, and anchor institutions.
Middle-Mile Fiber Networks
Construct or acquire transport infrastructure connecting Tribal communities to upstream networks, internet exchange points, or regional providers.
Backhaul Network Expansion
Fund backhaul facilities that improve capacity, reliability, redundancy, and upstream connectivity for Tribal service areas.
Fixed Wireless Access Systems
Deploy towers, radios, antennas, spectrum-based solutions, and customer premises equipment to connect hard-to-reach or dispersed locations.
Hybrid Fiber and Wireless Networks
Combine fiber backbone facilities with fixed wireless last-mile service to reach more households cost-effectively while preserving upgrade paths.
Community Anchor Institution Connectivity
Connect schools, libraries, clinics, public safety buildings, Tribal offices, elder centers, housing authorities, and other community facilities.
Network Core & Headend Facilities
Construct or upgrade core routers, aggregation equipment, switching systems, optical transport, network shelters, and operating facilities.
Redundant Network Resiliency Projects
Build backup routes, alternate transport links, failover systems, and disaster recovery improvements to reduce outage risk.
Long-Term IRU and Capacity Agreements
Acquire long-term rights to fiber strands, transport capacity, or other broadband facilities needed to deliver service.
Engineering & Network Design
Fund engineering, route design, GIS mapping, construction drawings, permitting support, and network architecture planning.
Environmental & Cultural Resource Compliance
Support environmental reviews, historic preservation, cultural resource assessments, permitting, site documentation, and related compliance activities.
Pole Attachment, Make-Ready, and Right-of-Way Work
Fund pole assessments, make-ready work, right-of-way preparation, easements, permitting, and access coordination.
Network Shelter and Equipment Site Development
Construct or improve huts, cabinets, tower sites, equipment pads, power systems, grounding, fencing, climate control, and physical security.
Backup Power & Network Reliability Systems
Deploy generators, batteries, UPS systems, monitoring tools, and reliability equipment to keep facilities operational during outages.
Customer Premises Equipment
Provide and install ONTs, wireless receivers, routers, modems, and related customer equipment needed to receive broadband service.
Permitting and Construction Management
Fund construction oversight, inspection, quality assurance, permitting coordination, contractor management, schedule tracking, and risk mitigation.
Performance Bonds and Surety Costs
Support allowable bonding, letters of credit, and surety instruments required for broadband construction activities.
Broadband Workforce Apprenticeship Programs
Train Tribal members for fiber construction, splicing, field installation, tower work, network maintenance, and long-term operations.
ISP Launch & Operational Readiness
Prepare customer support, provisioning, monitoring, outage response, cybersecurity, service plans, customer communications, and operating policies.
Network Sustainability Planning
Develop long-term financial, operational, staffing, maintenance, equipment replacement, pricing, and capital planning models.
Equitable Distribution activities are especially useful for Federally Recognized Tribes that may be eligible for an allocation of up to $500,000. These activities can help a Tribe build broadband readiness, strengthen internal capacity, develop a future project pipeline, prepare for implementation, or support smaller-scale use and adoption priorities.
NOTE: For Equitable Distributions category, your grant application would initially apply for either the TBCP Round 3 - Infrastructure or Use & Adoption categories. If your application doesn't receive the full funding and/or your organization has never applied for the TBCP grant before, the NTIA will modify it into an equitable distribution.
Broadband Master Planning
Develop a comprehensive Tribal broadband plan identifying needs, assets, gaps, priority projects, adoption barriers, funding opportunities, and implementation steps.
Broadband Feasibility Studies
Evaluate technology options, market demand, costs, revenues, staffing, ownership models, and operational requirements.
Broadband Sustainability Studies
Analyze long-term revenue, expenses, staffing, maintenance, replacement costs, pricing, and funding gaps.
GIS Broadband Asset Mapping
Map Tribal boundaries, homes, businesses, anchor institutions, existing assets, towers, fiber routes, poles, rights-of-way, and unserved areas.
Community Broadband Surveys & Needs Assessments
Collect household data, survey feedback, speed tests, interviews, and focus group findings to document needs and barriers.
Tribal Broadband Office Development
Establish or strengthen a Tribal broadband office for planning, grant coordination, provider engagement, community outreach, reporting, and governance.
Broadband Grant Program Development
Build internal capacity for grant writing, project scoping, budgeting, procurement, documentation, compliance, and reporting.
BEAD Alignment & State Broadband Office Coordination
Coordinate with State Broadband Offices to understand deployment plans, avoid duplication, and align Tribal priorities.
Broadband Governance & Policy Development
Develop ordinances, policies, procedures, right-of-way standards, data protection processes, service expectations, and broadband oversight roles.
Right-of-Way and Permitting Readiness
Identify easements, permitting requirements, land considerations, environmental issues, and approval pathways for future deployment.
Procurement and Vendor Readiness
Develop procurement documents, evaluation criteria, vendor due diligence, contract language, and contractor monitoring procedures.
Tribal Broadband Staffing & Capacity Building
Fund staff training and professional development for project oversight, grant management, vendor coordination, data collection, and reporting.
Digital Inclusion Strategic Planning
Develop a community-specific digital inclusion strategy identifying barriers, target populations, outreach methods, training needs, and outcomes.
Affordability Program Design
Design subsidy or affordability programs with eligibility rules, household verification, provider payment processes, documentation, and sustainability considerations.
Device Program Design
Develop compliant device program policies for eligibility, demonstrated need, training, inventory tracking, cybersecurity, distribution, and recordkeeping.
Community Technology Center Planning
Plan public access locations such as computer labs, libraries, elder centers, workforce centers, and learning spaces.
Telehealth Readiness Planning
Assess telehealth needs, privacy requirements, equipment needs, provider coordination, facility readiness, and support services.
Workforce Training Program Design
Identify employer needs, training partners, credentials, apprenticeships, career pathways, and job placement opportunities.
Broadband Financial Modeling
Create models for capital costs, operating expenses, revenue, subsidy needs, reserves, debt service, staffing, and sustainability.
Partnership and Consortium Development
Support coordination among Tribes, Tribal organizations, regional partners, providers, education, healthcare, and workforce entities.
Grant Compliance and Reporting Systems
Develop systems for tracking expenses, performance measures, participant data, service locations, inventory, subrecipients, and reporting obligations.
Next Step
Begin Grant IntakeStart the grant application process with Native Network.
Tell us about your Tribe, Nation, Pueblo, proposed project, and funding goals. Native Network will use your intake information to help identify the best grant pathway and organize the next steps for a strong application.
Grant Application Support Pricing
Native Network’s pricing for creating successful NTIA Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program Round 3 and Native Entities Grant Program applications is $5,000 and up, depending on project complexity, application scope, documentation needs, and schedule. Native Network also has strategies to help fund the grant writing process. Please inquire for more information.
Program Resources