Report on Broadband Deployment in Indian Country

As this report (based on super-accurate Dec 2017 Form 477 data) shows, while broadband deployment to Tribal lands has increased in recent years, additional work remains to increase deployment to the certain Tribal areas and reach the FCC's goal of closing the digital divide for all Americans. Tribal lands experience lower rates of both fixed and mobile broadband deployment as compared to non-Tribal areas of the United States, particularly in rural areas. For example, while 92% of housing units on urban Tribal lands are covered by a fixed terrestrial provider of 25/3 Mbps broadband service—just six points behind their non-Tribal urban counterparts—just 46.6% of housing units on rural Tribal lands have access to that service, a nearly 27-point gap compared to nonTribal rural areas. Mobile LTE coverage on Tribal lands is similarly behind deployment on non-Tribal lands; while 99.8% of the population living on non-Tribal areas are covered by mobile LTE service, only 96% of the population living on Tribal land are covered with such service. And generally, individuals living on Tribal lands that are covered have access to fewer carriers providing 4G LTE coverage. The FCC will initiate a proceeding in the near term to address these deployment challenges and help to close the broadband gap on Tribal lands.