TOHATCHI, NM – Choice Broadband, the wireless broadband branch of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, and Tarana, creator of next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA) technology, have officially launched a new ngFWA broadband network in Tohatchi, NM. This is the first of many upgraded networks that will equip residents and businesses of Navajo Nation, the largest Indigenous tribe in the U.S., with reliable, high-speed internet.
In Tohatchi, rocky terrain and significant distances between homes makes trenching fiber for broadband access extremely costly. Tarana’s ngFWA is the first wireless broadband solution to deliver fiber-class broadband at great distances despite radio interference or physical obstructions, enabling internet service providers to deploy affordable, quality internet service in hard-to-reach areas. Choice Broadband was able to expand their coverage footprint to nearly 400 previously unreachable locations with ngFWA. Now those unserved families, along with other underserved Tohatchi residents that were limited to 9 Mbps download speeds before Tarana, can get 100 Mbps immediately with speeds up to a gigabit coming soon.
“This is the first wireless broadband capable of 100+ Mbps speeds,” said Scott Horne, CEO of Commnet Broadband (parent company of Choice Broadband). “Tarana’s technology is truly opening doors that were previously closed and changing the lives of the Navajo people. We’re excited to launch this site today, but we also understand there is much more work to be done.”
The company plans to launch 10 additional ngFWA-backed broadband networks in various Navajo Nation communities this year.
“We are so proud to be partnering with Choice Broadband,” said Basil Alwan, Tarana CEO. “The Tohatchi deployment embodies our joint commitment to serving tribal communities with reliable broadband and reaching the underserved as soon as possible. We look forward to helping the Choice team accelerate their work throughout Navajo Nation with ngFWA.”
