This week on the podcast, Christopher speaks with Mona Thompson, General Manager at the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Telephone Authority (CRSTTA). CRSTTA serves the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in North Central South Dakota, which includes 20 communities dispersed across nearly 3 million acres.

Chris and Mona discuss the history of CRSTTA and the Telephone Authority’s efforts over time to upgrade its infrastructure and continue to offer residents high-quality connections – transitioning from dial-up, to DSL, to fiber. A majority of homes within CRSTTA’s service area now have access to fiber, with the exception of a new housing development the Telephone Authority is currently building fiber out to. Mona also discusses CRSTTA’s digital literacy and affordability efforts which help community members fully take advantage of its service. After 27 years with CRSTTA, Mona soon plans to retire, and during this episode sheds light on the important leadership roles she and other passionate women like her have played and will continue to play in the Tribal Telecommunications space.