Ann Kirkpatrick - for Arizona

Ann Fights Shutdown of Emergency Services in Navajo Nation

Possible shutdown of Navajo Internet pushed back

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. - The shutdown of Internet services on the Navajo Nation has been temporarily averted, a tribal official has confirmed.

SES Americom, a company that provides bandwidth for the services, had threatened to shutter it by noon Tuesday if the company was not paid for services rendered. However, the company informed Navajo officials late Monday that it decided not to shut down services until Aug 1.

"It is good news," said Deswood Tome, a spokesman for the Navajo Nation's Washington office. "It gives us some more room to work with USAC (the Universal Service Administration Company) to get their ruling on this and to get some time so that public safety services aren't shut down."

SES did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Internet shutdown would affect the tribe's public safety network, which allows police and other emergency responders to access the network from remote places across the reservation.

The problem is that Utah-based OnSat Network Communications Inc., which purchases the bandwidth from SES, has been unable to pay SES because the federal government has been withholding about $2.1 million in reimbursement funds.

A majority of the tribe's 110 chapter houses lost Internet service in April after the decision by the USAC to withhold the funds over concerns about a tribal audit of OnSat. USAC administers the funds through the E-rate program under the FCC.

The public safety network is not part of the E-rate program and is paid for separately. However, should SES terminate the satellite transmission, it would affect communications for the entire network.

USAC has asked the Navajo Nation to respond to the audit, which found that OnSat had overbilled for service and that the tribe didn't comply with procurement rules or a competitive bidding process in selecting OnSat. A USAC spokeswoman had said the agency would review the response and could either release full funding, partial funding, or deny the funding.

Tome said the tribe has complied with USAC's requests and is awaiting a response.

Tribal officials worked hard over the weekend to avoid a shutdown and they received notice from the FCC that the commission also was working to prevent the loss of Internet service, Tome said.

New Mexico's two U.S. senators have called on federal officials to intervene, as have former Arizona Democratic state Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who is running for Congress, and former Navajo President Peterson Zah.

In a joint letter to the FCC, Kirkpatrick and Zah said every community in America - including American Indian nations - has the right to an operational emergency response network to ensure the safety of its residents.

Kirkpatrick said Monday evening that she was pleased SES decided to hold off, but she noted that the Navajo problem speaks to a broader issue in Indian communities.

"The nations have simply been forgotten when it comes to building and maintaining a modern telecommunications infrastructure," she said. "This stumbling block hampers economic development and puts public safety at risk."