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In the age of technology, there are people in rural New Mexico who have never used - or seen - an iPod or a cell phone.

Officials at Navajo Technical College, the Navajo Nation and the University of New Mexico say it's time to bridge what they call "the technical divide."

Chris Landgraf, an Internet network engineer at UNM, said there's no reason people in far-flung areas of the state - particularly Navajos and other American Indians - should be exempt from enjoying modern communication.

"The average Navajo American is on a bus two or three hours a day going to school," he said. "But when they come to Albuquerque to visit, they see people here getting connectivity on the bus because of the wireless access."

Officials at Navajo Technical College, a tribal college in Crownpoint, are working on a project they hope will connect many American Indians to modern technology.

The project is called "Internet to the Hogan" and covers the Navajo Nation, which includes New Mexico, Arizona and a portion of Utah.

UNM Information Technology Services is helping Navajo Technical College get connected to LambdaRail, an ultra-high-speed network serving universities and research organizations.

The crew is erecting a tower in Crownpoint to establish a point-to-point wireless connection with the Albuquerque Gigapop, an on-ramp to LambdaRail.

"It will service nine communities in and around Crownpoint," said Jason Arviso, information technology director at Navajo Technical College.

The effort to plug the hole in access to technology has been spurred by representatives of the Navajo Nation, technology-based companies, universities and national laboratories. The state gave the program $1.8 million.

Last month, members from Navajo Technical College, UNM and other organizations met to work out details before the demonstration of high-speed Internet access in Crownpoint. No date has been set for the demonstration, officials said.

The work being done in Crownpoint will give people in the Navajo Nation access to video conferencing, Internet, telemedicine and wireless access in public places.

UNM eventually will provide distance education to Navajo community colleges through online and interactive TV courses.

Arviso said the Navajo Nation has a population of about 300,000 people. However, only 200,000 of those people live on the reservation because of lack of jobs and technology.

Landgraf said people in the area will realize the importance of technology in keeping families together.

"Grandma out there wants to keep her grandson on the reservation, they can't go at it without Internet connectivity or educational and commercial growth anymore," he said.

Todd Romero of Navajo Technical College, said as American Indians get connected with technology, their employment prospects will increase.

"I look at it as a project that will lower poverty in the Navajo Nation," he said. "We're creating jobs and have the ability to educate them to get jobs."