What began as one Indian reservation's desire for better telephone service now stands to become a national movement to bring broadband technology to other reservations around the U.S.
Mescalero Apache Telecom (MATI) took life in March 2001 and in four short years has upgraded telephone service to the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation, introduced high-speed Internet access and begun trialing broadband wireless technology for voice and data as a competitive carrier.
As important, however, is that MATI is sharing its knowledge with others in the same situation.
"We made Mescalero a showcase to show other tribes," said Godfrey Enjady, general manager of Mescalero Apache Telecom. "We have a telecom 101 training course for tribes and show them the back-office, the billing and the front-office systems, as well as a lot of training that we cram into a week. We have NECA [National Exchange Carriers' Association] and vendors come out and make presentations. It's all part of our outreach to tribes to show them how telephone companies work.
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