Erlinda Soap enrolled in college classes at Northeastern State University without a laptop or home internet service. When she couldn’t borrow a relative’s laptop or tablet and internet connection—which was often—she used her cell phone to write and submit assignments.

The system wasn’t perfect. Soap, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation whose tribal name is Dagasi, almost gave up on her sociology degree because of frustration with her mobile service after Covid-19 lockdowns caused the campus to close.

“I was very nearly close to withdrawing from my classes, because the university was closed,” she told Tech Brew. “I’m living in a rural area with limited service. My work—it was a hit and miss. Maybe it might get submitted. Or maybe it just might totally shut down on me at the very last minute…It was really challenging.”

Now, a new AT&T-supported cell tower in the Cherokee community of Kenwood, Oklahoma, has made mobile connections more stable for locals like Soap. Her experience highlights the connectivity challenges many Native Americans face when living on or near tribal lands.

Vice President Kamala Harris noted in Dec. 6 remarks that “one in three Americans who live on tribal lands and in rural areas do not have access to high-speed internet.” A number of federal efforts currently seek to close that gap, including funds from the American Rescue Plan and federal grants dedicated specifically to improving connectivity on tribal lands.

Keep reading here.—KG

Getting your biz off the ground requires a whole lotta know-how. Scaling plans, talent acquisition, and generating buzzworthy marketing are just a few of the many hats startup founders need to throw on. It helps to have a guide.

Luckily, Dell for Startups is just that. They offer expert startup consultations from dedicated technology advisors, all backed by solutions that are designed to grow with you at whatever pace you need.

Dell for Startups can help manage more than just your tech needs, too. Need mentorship advice from other innovators? How about some help managing your cash flow? Whatever you need, Dell for Startups is here to help you scale.

Move on up.

The new year is approaching, and that means everyone is writing out their 2024 goals and priorities—including health systems.

NewYork–Presbyterian, one of the largest health systems in New York, has prioritized implementing its AI strategy in 2024, Peter Fleischut, group SVP and chief transformation and information officer at the health system, told Healthcare Brew.

At the core of the health system’s AI strategy is streamlining workflows to make it easier for providers to care for patients, Fleischut said.

“It is important for us to make sure that we don’t just implement technology for technology’s sake,” Fleischut said. “A big part of our role is to really understand the business, understand how we’re trying to take care of patients, and make sure we’re applying technology where technology should be applied.”

Keep reading here.—MA

Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

Anytime you interact with a company online or within an app, you are using a product a digital team built. Everything—from the buttons you click and the pages you see to how you pay for things and your end-to-end experience—was carefully thought through to make it the most pleasing customer experience possible.

My job is to think of all the things a customer needs to be successful and then build, launch, and iterate on that product based on what we learn from our customers. Product is the bridge between business and technology, and what we do directly impacts our customer, so it’s a very rewarding space to be in.

What’s the most compelling tech project you’ve worked on, and why?

We launched Frontdoor in the spring of 2023, and the ability to instantly video chat with an experienced and vetted home repair expert is paramount to our product. It’s like Uber for all your home repair needs—open the app, chat with an expert about your issue, and fix it while on the call with them; or, if that’s not possible, we will refer you to a vetted pro to perform the necessary repairs. I believe this instant connection to an industry that has been notoriously hard to work with is a game-changer, and look forward to enabling all homeowners to get handy and check things off their to-do list.

Keep reading here.

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