Though many rural towns have access to the Internet via dial-up or cable modems, there are several areas in the country (including San Diego county) that lack stable, affordable commercial Internet services. In an effort to help bridge this potential "digital divide", the HPWREN project is working toward delivering high-speed Internet connectivity to several remote communities in east San Diego.

The researchers have most recently connected the Santa Rosa Native American reservation, which is located in southeastern Riverside county. In exchange for linking the Santa Rosa Native Americans to HPWREN, the NSF-funded research project was granted access to the tribe's land atop Toro Peak. "This mutually beneficial collaboration is modelled after the arrangements that we have made with other tribes, such as Pala," said HPWREN PI Hans-Werner Braun. "Thanks to our access to Santa Rosa property on Toro Peak, HPWREN is able to reach remote seismic sensors in the Anza Borrego desert, an ecological reserve in Boyd Deep Canyon, and the Kings Stormwater Bridge near Salton Sea. Being able to provide the reservation's educational facility with network access is an added bonus for our project's efforts as we aim to outreach to both remote research and education sites."

For details regarding this activity, please refer to http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/news/030414.html.

The HPWREN team's first wireless link in conjunction with the Native American community involved the Pala Native American Indian reservation, which is home to more than 600 tribal members - including more than 150 children who attend elementary school on the reservation.

"By providing the Pala Learning Center with high-speed Internet access, UCSD has opened up an incredible amount of opportunities for our tribe and its future generations," said Robert Smith, Pala Tribal Chairman. "We will begin classes to teach both the older and younger generations of our tribe - so that they can become more familiar with the many opportunities available to them through the Internet."

For additional information about the Pala Learning Center's connectivity, please refer to http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/news/001018.html.

Photographs depicting the Pala and HPWREN collaboration are available at http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/Photos/sites.html#PNAR.

For information about Rincon's connectivity, please refer to http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/news/010303.html. Photographs depicting the La Jolla and HPWREN collaboration are available at http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/Photos/sites.html#Rincon.

Although the establishment of wireless connectivity is a great benefit to these communities, education programs are also an important aspect of any outreach project. To ensure that tribal members are fully aware of the opportunities available to them via high-speed Internet access, the HPWREN team is currently helping to establish and continue education programs at each reservation's learning center.

Not only are Pala, La Jolla, and Rincon tribal members benefitting from high-speed Internet connectivity, but soon all 18 San Diego County reservations will have a network connection - thanks to the recently formed Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association (SCTCA) Tribal Digital Village Network (TDVNet), which is funded by Hewlett Packard.. Last summer marked the first significant activity for the SCTCA and HP efforts; high school students from tribes throughout the county participated in a Summer Youth Academy. Additional education outreach activities involving both HPWREN and TDVNet include a multicast class, which took place at Pala Learning Center.

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While the equipment was paid for by the school district, the HPWREN team participated in the installation and also provided technical expertise to guide the students through the deployment process.

For additional information about the Warner Unified collaboration, please refer to http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/news/010223.html.

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