NTIA's Tribal Division Chief Adam Geisler Joins Native-owned Tribal Ready

Adam Geisler, the division chief for Tribal connectivity and nation coordination at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, has joined Native-owned Tribal Ready as Chief Operating Officer.

NTIA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the executive branch's chief telecommunications agency, and has played a crucial role in supporting Tribal connectivity.

Geisler was one of the first Commerce Department employees in the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program at the NTIA, the executive branch’s chief telecommunication agency.

As such, Geisler was instrumental in the development and deployment of $2 billion in funding to Indian country from the time the program began as a result of the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, passed at the end of 2020. About $1 billion was devoted to Tribal connectivity in the appropriations act; the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of November 2021 provided an additional $2 billion in funding for the Tribal broadband program.

“A large part of what I did was to help them develop a strategy and awareness around the program, including awareness in Indian country,” Geisler said in an interview.

Geisler, who is a member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians, was attracted to Tribal Ready by the fact that it has “the same vision for where the internet is going and where technology is going” as he was implementing at the NTIA, he said.

Further, Tribal Ready “recognizes that true Tribal sovereignty in a digital age is going to require an extra form of digital sovereignty,” said Geisler.

The new COO will work alongside Tribal Ready CEO Joe Valandra, who said of Geisler, “he’s going to add some tremendous assets to what we’re doing. We’re over the moon about it.”

Valandra has articulated the importance of Tribal Nations signing up for the Virtual Tribal Broadband Office at TribalReady.com. The new entity works in close partnership with Ready.net, which gives Tribal Ready access to detailed broadband data, mapping and software tools.

Just as every state and territory has a state-wide broadband office, Tribes need to be represented through a voice in Washington focused on their needs, Valandra has said.

Tribal Ready, which launched in February, helps Tribes plan, build and operate communications networks in unserved communities. The company hopes to use its new telecommunications capacity to partner with Tribes to run their networks, preserving ownership and control for Tribes.