KENWOOD, Okla. — As Oklahoma prioritizes getting more ways to have internet and phone access in rural areas, one Cherokee nation community is showing how it’s getting done.
The community of Kenwood now has 5G cell phone access, with a 355 foot cell phone tower, compatible with AT&T. Prior, they didn’t get service at all.
The community has about 1,000 people.
Rylee Smith’s lived there for 28 years, and found out the hard way.
“Most of us don’t use AT&T in my family," Smith said. "I was kind of bummed."
It’s a start - as Oklahoma tries to tackle the digital divide in rural communities lacking 21st century phone and internet access.
Ladonna Rohr, also of Kenwood, says she’d have to drive over 10 miles to use her cell phone.
"Anywhere you can get a service is where we'd have to go," Rohr said. "Sometimes its Locust Grove.”
The tower launched last week, thanks to federal funding from the American Rescue Plan.
It will also allow boost safety in the area through the capabilities of FirstNet. It’s a nationwide first responder network.
The Cherokee Nation is also in the midst of building a new community center directly next to the tower.
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