Internet Options for American Indian Lands

According to Census.gov, as of 2021, only 71 percent of households on American Indian lands had access to broadband internet, compared to 90 percent in U.S. urban areas.

Many American Indian lands are located in remote areas, sometimes with rough terrain, which makes building out infrastructure difficult and expensive. That difficulty deters most land-based internet providers from bringing service to these areas. The resulting lack of high-speed internet contributes to the digital divide between those living on American Indian lands and the rest of the U.S.

Without reliable internet service, those living on American Indian lands face barriers to accessing information, public services, educational resources, and business opportunities.

Fortunately, more options and resources are available now than ever to help close this digital divide. These options include satellite internet, fixed wireless internet, LTE home internet, and additional benefits available to make internet service more affordable. 

Satellite internet is often the best option for remote areas because it’s available where other internet service providers (ISPs) don’t reach. All you need is the equipment, a subscription, and clear skies. Depending on where you live and which internet service you choose, satellite internet could be your best option.

Starlink offers high-speed, low-latency satellite internet service that uses low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, so its service is faster and more reliable than other satellite internet options. As of 2024, Starlink is readily available to all of the U.S. and works nearly anywhere in the world.

Starlink’s residential subscription is $120 per month for up to 220Mbps speeds without a contract. That much data and speed can smoothly power your online browsing, gaming, streaming, online education, and business transactions.

Other advantages include its easy installation and unlimited data.

Unfortunately, it's the most expensive of the satellite internet providers with its pricy upfront costs for the equipment. Starlink also doesn't participate in any financial assistance or discounts for American Indian lands or low-income customers. 

So, overall, if your home is on the coverage map and you can pay $349 upfront for hardware, Starlink could be your area's best and fastest option. We recommend getting it if you can.  

Hughesnet satellite internet is a good choice because of its broad coverage map. According to Hughesnet, its service area covers the entire contiguous United States. Unfortunately, Hughesnet has a monthly allotment of priority data. When you use up that data, you won't be cut off, but speeds will be slowed to a snail's pace of 1Mbps to 3Mbps.

More data can be purchased if necessary, but it can inflate your bill if you download a lot. Good news for night owls and early risers: Hughesnet offers a Bonus Zone with 50GB of free monthly data during off-peak hours between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m.

Satellite internet plans with Hughesnet are best for home usage and low-bandwidth internet activities such as email, social media, and listening to music. If you want to watch streaming video services or need to make a lot of video calls, you should consider a higher-data option like the Hughesnet Fusion plan. Just be aware that the Hughesnet Fusion plan is less available than the satellite-internet-only plans.

If you need higher amounts of data for educational purposes or running a small business, Hughesnet’s max 100Mbps speeds aren’t the best choice. We recommend either Viasat or Starlink for those needs. Read more about them below.

Like Hughesnet, Viasat satellite internet service is a good option for American Indian lands because it is available to 99% of the U.S. population, making it an option where cable and DSL internet providers don’t offer service. 

Viasat is more expensive than Hughesnet, but it offers unlimited data and delivers faster download speeds, up to 150Mbps, compared to Hughesnet’s 100Mbps. Remember that your exact plans and internet speeds will depend on your location.

With unlimited data, Viasat can support at-home online education, power small schools on American Indian lands, or run a small business (you can finally run those credit card machines). There are even Viasat business plans available if needed. The only downside is that Viasat is costly.

Starlink truly offers the best of both worlds (Hughesnet’s lower prices and Viasat’s higher speeds and data caps)—again, if you can get it. Check out more about it below.

Digital subscriber line internet (DSL internet) uses phone lines to deliver high-speed internet service, and it’s available through larger internet service providers like CenturyLink and Frontier or many local DSL providers. Unfortunately, AT&T no longer offers DSL internet.

But when it comes to DSL, we highly suggest looking into more local providers, like Hopi Telecommunication (which services Hopi Nation land with DSL internet, select satellite internet options, and voice options). DSL technology is a bit more accessible because it’s older, so you’re more likely to find local providers with this equipment than fiber.

DSL isn’t nearly as fast as cable or fiber but isn’t as expensive as satellite internet. It also doesn’t suffer the same latency issues as 5G and 4G LTE home internet. Depending on where you live and which ISPs are available, DSL could be faster than satellite internet service or fixed wireless internet without data limits.

Research your options based on your home address to see which DSL internet service is available where you live.

The fastest types of broadband internet, such as cable from companies like Xfinity or fiber from companies like AT&T, Google Fiber, or Frontier Fiber, are often unavailable on American Indian lands. If you can’t get these traditional options at home, fixed wireless internet may be another possibility.

With fixed wireless internet, you get internet service via wireless phone airwaves like a cellular data plan, with an antenna attached to your home to help boost the signal. 4G LTE home internet is one type of fixed wireless home internet service, but providers like T-Mobile are now offering 5G home internet with download speeds ranging from 33–182Mbps with no data limits.

Fixed wireless internet is available through large wireless carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and smaller companies like Rise Broadband.

However, not all rural areas can get fixed wireless internet service—it depends on which service providers are available in your area. Exact details, data limits, and download speeds will depend on where you live and whether you use a more prominent provider or a local one like Sacred Wind Communications (which offers fixed wireless and fiber internet to 22 Navajo Nation chapters). 

If you don’t have a larger provider near you or don’t want satellite internet, we suggest checking out the search tool above.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) was a federal program that helped lower-income people get home internet service at an affordable price. As of June 2024, the ACP was discontinued and is in limbo unless U.S. Congress takes action.

Lifeline is a federal program that gives qualifying households up to a $9.25 discount on their monthly internet subscription from select providers. Households within Tribal lands can qualify for $34.95 in discounts. Similar to the ACP, it was created by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help qualifying low-income households afford telephone and broadband access. Even though it’s less of a discount than provided by the ACP and has stricter eligibility, $9.25 saved per month is important for many households.

American Indian lands face unique challenges in getting access to high-speed internet service. The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) is a $3 billion federal government initiative to provide funding directly to American Indian governments to help them close this digital divide.

As of November 2022, and according to the Department of Commerce, the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) has awarded $1.5 billion to 112 American Indian governments and entities to help build and expand broadband internet infrastructure on their lands.

The latest National Tribal Broadband Summit took place in September 2022. Attendees included leaders, policymakers, and experts from American Indian councils, state and federal governments, and private sector partner organizations. The summit's goal was to share ideas and strategies to build more broadband infrastructure and improve access to high-speed internet on American Indian lands.

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, 35% of people on American Indian lands lack access to broadband internet.

A recent study from the American Indian Policy Institute (AIPI) also found the following:

• About 18% of American Indian land residents have no home internet connection.
• Approximately 33% of the residents get home internet access via smartphone.
• Roughly 31% of respondents living on American Indian lands said that their home internet connection was “spotty” or had no reliable connection.
• Only 12% of people living on American Indian lands have cable internet subscriptions.
• In comparison, 97.9% of Americans in major metropolitan areas can access fixed broadband internet services.

Nez Perce Systems provides home internet service for people on the Nez Perce reservation. Basic wireless internet plans start at $25 per month, and high-speed fiber-optic internet plans start at $45 per month.

Yes, the Navajo Nation has internet access, but like many other rural areas and American Indian lands, internet connectivity can be inconsistent and unreliable, especially in sparsely populated areas. Fortunately, there is still cell phone service, and Sacred Wind Communications offers fixed wireless or fiber internet to 22 chapters of the Navajo Nation. 

American Indian leaders continue working to improve broadband infrastructure and cellular service in this area. In August 2022, the Navajo Nation received a $50 million federal grant from the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program to fund 63 broadband infrastructure projects. 

Yes, the Navajo Nation gets cellular phone service from Navajo-owned Choice Wireless and other cellular providers such as Cellular One, AT&T, and Verizon.