The 4th Annual Tribal Telecom Training Conference is hosted by the Mescalero Apache Telecommunications, Inc., the 7th and last tribally-owned telecom enterprise to begin operations - of 562 federally-recognized tribes.

MATI serves a 4,000 member reservation that in 1990 had less than 10 percent residential voice service. After purchasing their certification and facilities from GTE in 1997, the tribe installed 90 miles of fiber, setting up a sonnet ring, and today provides telecom service to over 97 percent of the tribal members. In addition, this is the only tribal reservation that is making broadband (DSL) service available to 97 percent of the community.

MATI has pioneered efforts to support tribal governance through their Telecom Enterprise. MATI built an ISP service for the community and a Broadband that supports the tribe's enterprises (three gaming casinos, a five-star resort hotel and golf course, a timber plant and private enterprises), serves federal BIA and Department of Interior agencies, supports fire-fighting and emergency services, provides DSL support to the tribal public school (equipped with 600 computers), and serves the Health Clinic, Headstart Center, Tribal Museum and college curriculum distance learning center. But MATI has also evolved into second generation enterprise services to assist other tribes, such as consulting contracts to build central office buildings and move PBX circuit equipment, assist tribal C-LEC efforts, and partnership ventures for wire-less C-LEC services. MATI has further partnered with Four Horizons Development Company to assist tribes to build their own tribal telecom enterprises.

MATI's telecom 3-day training course typically includes site-visit enriched technology and operational seminars that allow tribal participants to experience how a tribal telecommunications enterprise is operated. There are courses on infrastructure operations, maintenance, customer care, billing and regulatory accounting, as well as lectures by experts on regulatory requirements, financing opportunities, conducting feasibility studies, as well as presentations by telecom and IT equipment and software vendors on applications and solutions. Typically, 25-40 registered attendees participate, representing over 15 tribes.

This year, there will be an added component of a National Congress of American Indians roundtable policy discussion on how to increase tribal and rural telecom service access by re-writing the Telecommunications Act. For this Roundtable, Tribal Telecoms, NCAI Tribal Representatives, FCC and other Federal Agency Officials, Congressional Staff, State Officials, and community group representatives will be invited to participate. Approximately 60-85 participants will be attending the conference.