Bringing High Speed Internet Into Navajo Students’ Homes

On the northern Navajo Nation in San Juan County, a shortage of broadband and internet service providers meant that many students could only access the internet at school, restricting home learning opportunities and limiting the types of homework teachers could assign.

However, in 2020, the Utah legislature’s executive appropriations committee approved part of the federal COVID-19 stimulus funds for an internet infrastructure project that would bring internet to the homes of Navajo children in Utah.

The funds for the project were accepted only days after Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez declared that all children on tribal land would practically attend school to keep the coronavirus at bay after the number of cases began to level off.

Solectek, a California-based firm that studied the project’s viability, determined the network could be extended to include all student residences with that budget. Solectek received assistance from Navancio in this endeavor.

Vice President of the Navajo Nation, Myron Lizer, said the pandemic brought to light many of the Navajo Nation’s long-standing issues, such as lack of access to healthcare, energy, sanitation, and the internet. Since many Navajo people had pre-existing problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, they were especially hard hit by the virus.

Navancio is working tirelessly to find answers to the Navajo Nation’s problems.

Navancio LLC is a 8(a) certified Native American owned Small Business that provides professional services, including specialized expertise in high-technology solutions. These services stretch across the federal, state and local government market and in commercial sectors throughout the United States, and internationally.