Proof in Trial: Appellate Edition: Stand Up for California et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al.
McGirt Uncertainty Extends to Federal Environmental Regulations in Indian Country
Revisiting McGirt: New Legal Developments Challenge Oklahoma’s Landmark Ruling
The Immediate and Lasting Impacts of McGirt: A Novel Ruling for Oklahoma
The White House has provided updates on the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act). Notably, the White House released fact sheets for providing detailed information about announced...more
Congress passed the Broadband DATA Act in 2020, directing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to collect more granular data regarding broadband service availability in order to create a publicly accessible, nationwide...more
More than 30 million Americans still lack access to reliable high-speed internet. The need for reliable and affordable internet access has become increasingly important as the economy becomes more dependent on internet...more
President Biden has released a “Rural Playbook” for how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will invest billions in rural communities. This playbook identifies all of the programs and sources of funding set aside for...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published its Final Rule on Feb. 14, 2022, governing the Affordable Connectivity Fund (ACF), formerly known as the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB), a new long-term program...more
In 1936, during the throes of the Great Depression, the federal government launched the Rural Electrification Act to provide electricity to the people living outside of cities and towns. While 90% of homes in urban and...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released its Guidance for the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (Capital Projects Fund) for States, territories, and tribal governments, as created by Section 9901 of the...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on April 29, 2021, that starting May 12, 2021, eligible households will be able to enroll in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB Program) through an approved...more
The past several months have seen a number of new funding opportunities for the deployment, adoption and affordability of broadband services on tribal lands. This alert provides a quick update on these various opportunities....more
Tribal governments in rural areas, with a population of 50,000 or less, have until Aug. 3, 2020, to apply for a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to directly access unassigned spectrum over their lands....more
We have previously issued several alerts regarding the ability of eligible tribal entities to apply for certain airwave licenses that can be used for wireless internet access and other services. The window for applying for...more
As we previously reported, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will provide rural tribes with an opportunity to apply for free wireless airwaves in the 2.5 GHz band. The FCC has now set the window during which...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comment on ways to improve the dialogue between tribes and carriers that provide subsidized telephone and broadband services to tribal areas using federal universal...more
On Sept. 18, 2019, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing on tribal access to spectrum. Spectrum are slices of airwaves used to send signals to wireless devices like smartphones. One of the key messages was...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released an order making available certain airwaves for broadband wireless services on rural tribal lands. These airwaves, in the 2.5 GHz spectrum band, were previously set...more
As directed by Congress in last year’s RAY BAUM’s Act, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) delivered to the House and Senate Commerce committees its evaluation of broadband coverage in Indian country. The FCC’s bottom...more
The Federal Communications Commission has made closing the “digital divide” a top priority, particularly on tribal lands. Despite this lofty goal, and millions of federal dollars theoretically available to subsidize building...more
There is no question the issues facing rural communities nationwide are magnified on most Indian reservations. Infrastructure and access to basic utilities lead the list of long-standing issues. ...more
This is the ninth issue of WilmerHale's 10-in-10 Infrastructure Series. In this series, our attorneys share insights on current and emerging issues affecting infrastructure project developers in the United States. Attorneys...more
The FCC has proposed to exclude so-called “Twilight Towers” from routine historic preservation review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”) and its regulations. ...more
On November 16, 2017, a divided FCC voted 3-2 to adopt a controversial order and new rulemaking proceeding, adopting and proposing many changes that will radically reshape—and significantly shrink—the Lifeline program. The...more
According to the Federal Communications Commission, 90 percent of Americans have access to broadband Internet access service at the FCC’s benchmark speeds of 25 Mbps for downloads/3 Mbps for uploads. But the FCC also found...more
Last week, the FCC released its second major order in the Lifeline reform proceeding: Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Order on Reconsideration, Second Report and Order, and Memorandum Opinion and Order...more