The Town of Tusayan and the Grand Canyon School District did not get a state grant to bring high speed internet to Tusayan. The town will reapply next year for the program called ERate whose focus is to bring high speed internet to rural communities with an emphasis on education.

Meanwhile Tusayan has already spent $500,000 for a conduit system in the town in anticipation of an ERate grant.  There is no fiber optic cable in those conduits and even if there were, there is data to run through the fiber.

The cost of bringing high speed internet to Tusayan would be as much as $14 million by running fiber optic cable from Williams.

Councilman David Chavez would like to see use of the conduit sooner than later and suggested the Town put out bids to install the fiber and look for a way to ‘light it up.”

Other options include bonds and or a sales tax. Montoya likes the idea. He said, “when it comes to spending money everyone is dragging their feet and to me that’s what stops government.”