Internet Options for American Indian Lands

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, as of 2019, only 65% of housing units on American Indian lands had access to broadband internet, compared to 99% 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—or disparity of internet access—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. Depending on where you live and which internet service you choose, satellite internet download speeds and data limits could be your best option.

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. Hughesnet has no hard data limits, so if you exceed your monthly data plan, you don’t lose connectivity, but you may experience reduced data speeds during high-traffic periods.

There’s also 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, if you can get it, Starlink for those needs. Read more about them below.

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

Viasat costs are around the same as Hughesnet, but it offers unlimited data and delivers faster download speeds, up to 150Mbps, compared to Hughesnet’s 100Mbps. Keep in mind that your exact plans and internet speeds will depend on your location, though.

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.

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. Unfortunately, it’s not yet available all over the U.S.

According to the Starlink coverage map as of April 2023, much of Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and areas east of the Mississippi are still on a waitlist for Starlink internet service. American Indian lands in those areas will have to wait a bit longer to experience Starlink.

Even if Starlink internet service isn’t available in your area, it’s worth checking so you can get on the Starlink waitlist and gain access to the service once it opens up. With Starlink’s $90 to $120 monthly plan (depending on how congested the network is or will be in your area), you’ll get 1TB of data and up to 100Mbps speeds without a contract. That much data and speed can smoothly power your online gaming, TV streaming, online education, educational facilities, and business transactions.

So overall, if your home is on the coverage map, and you can pay $599 upfront for hardware, Starlink could be the best, fastest option for your area. We recommend getting it if you can.  

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, say, fiber.

DSL isn’t nearly as fast as cable or fiber, but it isn’t as expensive as satellite internet. It also doesn’t suffer from 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 and 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 your home, fixed wireless internet may be another possibility.

With fixed wireless internet, you get internet service provided 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 larger provider or 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 you don’t want satellite internet, we suggest checking out the search tool above.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a federal program that helps lower-income people get home internet service at an affordable price. The ACP is for all parts of America, not just for those living on American Indian lands.

The ACP Enhanced Tribal Benefit included up to $75 per month in discounts on internet service and a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop, or tablet (with a small co-pay). However, as of February 7, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will stop accepting enrollments due to a lack of funding from Congress. Without additional funds, the program will stop entirely by the end of April 2024. The FCC has signaled that it wants to program to continue, but its future is uncertain. Current households that are part of the ACP should receive written notice from their internet provider when their bill will increase.

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 goal of the summit 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 at all.
• 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 that they 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 have access to high-speed fixed broadband internet services.

Yes, 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 to 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.