Editorial: Navajo Nation project brings stimulus to reservation

Here’s stimulus we like to see: Government and private business working together to build infrastructure to form a foundation for future growth. It’s happening right now, on the vast expanses of the Navajo Nation. With a nearly $46 million investment, some 30,000 households and 1,000 businesses on the Navajo Nation will be able to hop on the information highway. It’s made possible by a project that will create a broadband network to improve wireless Internet and phone service.

The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority Wireless also will be connecting public institutions — emergency care, health, social services and public safety facilities, improving communication in life-and-death moments. According to The Farmington Daily Times, the 3-year-old project started with a $32.2 million federal grant, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The company is a joint venture between the utility authority, 51 percent owner, and minority owner Commnet Wireless. The utility authority committed another $11.3 million, and Commnet, another $2.2 million. To make this work, government, tribal and private dollars had to work cooperatively.