Tribe examining telecom business potential for Grand Ronde area

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is thinking about getting into the business of providing Internet services to the Grand Ronde area by possibly starting its own telecommunications company.

Part of the process for considering the new venture is gauging community interest.

Tribal Council member Chris Mercier hosted a community meeting put on by the Tribe’s Information Services Department at the Tribal gym on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The meeting was originally scheduled for Monday, Dec. 5, but postponed because of inclement weather.

About 20 community members attended, shared a meal and discussed their concerns about current Internet providers in the area and talked about what they would like to see if the Tribe did go into the telecommunications business.

“We’re here to talk about whether Grand Ronde should establish their own telecommunications company,” said Mercier. “There are only about 10 Tribes that have established their own telecommunications companies.”

The Tribe would offer Internet and telephone service in an effort to provide faster broadband Internet and improved telephone service at better rates than those of outside providers.

People in attendance were asked to fill out a survey that asked questions like, “Do you have Internet service? If so, what speeds do you have and how would you rate the quality of your service?”

The survey also asked if people had landlines. People were asked to provide information about how they felt about the cost of their telephone service and rate the quality of the service.

The survey asked if people had satellite or cable television and which companies their providers were. Information Services wanted to know if people bundled their current services and asked if Grand Ronde were to start its own company would people be interested in becoming customers.

Information Services Operations Manager Bill Kephart said the Tribe is currently re-selling Wave Broadband and CenturyLink Internet services to Tribal members living in Grand Ronde.

Kephart said the Tribe is looking to create a company by acquiring all the needed certificates and licenses.

The Tribe has options, Kephart said, including doing nothing and continuing to re-sell the product to Tribal members at a flat fee or it can become a phone company.

“The second option is to become a phone company. And nothing changes,” said Kephart. “We all just keep doing the jobs we’re doing and create a company and get the certificates that are required.”

There are monthly, quarterly and annual reports that need to be filed with the Oregon Public Utilities Commission and fees to pay, but those fees would be minimal, he said.

Kephart said that the Tribe could then sell Internet and phone services to Spirit Mountain Casino.

Kephart said the final option is creating a full business plan that would create a phone/Internet company that would be a separate entity with its own employees. He said that would involve building the infrastructure to support a business in the entire Grand Ronde community.

“This community meeting is important because we’re trying to draw both the Tribal and nonTribal community members in here to get their input,” said Kephart. “So the biggest part is to get the community input, get the survey results and answer any questions people might have.”

Kephart said it could cost as much as $1.5 million to lay the fiber-optic cables throughout Grand Ronde if Tribal Council ever decided to go with the full business model. He said he believes he could possibly get grants to complete that work.

Kephart said he hopes to compile all the information they have gathered, meet with his Telecommunications Planning Committee, an interdepartmental group that has been meeting since April with representatives of Portland-based consultant Converge Communications, and submit a report in January for consideration by Tribal Council.

Mercier asked for a show of hands at the meeting of everyone who used the Internet on a daily basis. Everyone raised their hands.

“The reality is that Internet service and cell phone use – just telecommunications in general -- are a part of our daily lives,” said Mercier. “I use it every day.”

Mercier said that some Tribes have already gotten into the telecommunications business to improve service for their people on their Reservations.

Mercier used Tribes in Oregon, California and Arizona as examples of Tribes that have already formed businesses.

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation in eastern Oregon operates Warm Springs Telecom and it became the ninth Tribally owned telecommunications business in the United States when it opened for business on Oct. 1, 2013.

After years of planning, the Warm Springs Tribe received an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant in the summer of 2010 to begin a telecommunications company. The money from the grant was used to build an office that houses the customer service center, the administration offices and a central equipment office.

The Warm Springs Tribe then placed a fiber/fixed wireless network connecting the Reservation and the Tribe expects to have the entire Reservation covered by 2019.

Because the Warm Springs operation has the necessary federal certifications it can offer its Tribal members the Lifeline telephone program that was established under the Clinton administration to provide telephone services to members on the Reservation for $1 and the costs of service fees.

Mercier said that the Fort Mojave Tribe in Needles, Calif., established its Fort Mojave Telecommunications Inc. business as far back as 1988. The Tribe created 18 jobs on its Reservation and the Tribe now earns about $3 million annually from the business.

Mercier said that the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico bought the existing phone lines from Qwest for $3 million and then started providing service to its own people through their own economic enterprise.

Mescalero Apache Telecom Inc. offers its customers broadband Internet access as well as e-mail hosting, web/domain hosting and dedicated servers. The Tribal business teaches Elders how to set up and use e-mail.

“Now they serve over 3,700 homes on their Reservation and they created 45 new jobs,” said Mercier. “You can see the potential.”

Mercier polled audience members and asked how much people were paying for their Internet services currently and most were between $79 and $150 a month depending on the speeds and options offered by either CenturyLink or Wave Broadband.

Grand Ronde residents can receive voice mail and Internet services through the Tribe currently for $57 a month.

“So we want something that is going to fit the needs of the community,” said Mercier. “We also want to improve the educational opportunities here. We want to improve economic development. You can give your money to Wave Broadband or CenturyLink or you can give your money to Grand Ronde Telecom. It’s up to you. It’s about keeping your economy local.”