New Internet Census Finds Doubling of Tribal Networks Since 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For media inquiries, please contact: Reggie Rucker, ILSR Communications Director

Broadband surge is the result of Tribal Nations’ mission to establish “network sovereignty,” says census researcher Jessica Auer

MINNEAPOLIS (June 16, 2026) – The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) has released its updated census of Tribal Internet networks, providing a comprehensive look at the burgeoning state of Internet connectivity across Indian Country. The census covers Tribal broadband activity across 202 federally recognized Tribal Nations, spanning nearly every region of the country.

What ILSR’s 2026 Census Found:

• 90 active Tribal Internet networks that are currently selling retail services or operating active institutional networks, with many in the process of expanding or upgrading
• 56 expected networks that have received funding to build and should come online soon
• 56 prospective networks — Tribes that are actively considering or pursuing Internet access for their communities

The first-of-its-kind network-by-network census is accompanied by a searchable map, a compendium of entries on each active network, and a detailed historical timeline tracing the arc of Tribal broadband policy and advocacy from the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to the present day.

“When we first performed this census, in 2020, we counted around 40 active Tribal networks of some kind. Now, that figure has doubled. In short, we are in the midst of unprecedented growth in Tribal broadband,” says ILSR senior researcher Jessica Auer, the creator of the census project.

“According to the Federal Communications Commission, nearly 24 percent of locations on Tribal lands still lacked access to fixed broadband at speeds of 100/20 Mbps in 2022 — more than three times the national rate of 7 percent,” Sean Gonsalves, an associate director for communications at ILSR, noted in an article for Broadband Breakfast. “Federal policy failures and decades of neglect by large monopoly providers, which consistently prioritized high-density and wealthier areas, are responsible for the lion’s share of these inequities.”

Among the many case studies highlighted in the census, Gonsalves points to the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, which waited eight years for a major telecom carrier to bring service to its reservation after the company received federal funding to do so — and only after the Tribe paid for installation itself and guaranteed a minimum number of subscribers.

Beyond the practical benefits of expanded connectivity, the census project connects the Tribal broadband surge to an underlying mission to establish “network sovereignty.” Auer describes this in the census report as Tribal Nations having the agency to “self-determine the course of the communications development on their lands, the terms of that development, and the way the benefits of connectivity play out in their communities.”

Included in the census report is a detailed historical timeline documenting the policy victories and setbacks that have shaped the Tribal broadband movement, dating back to 1996. Among the key dates discussed are:

• 2000 FCC Tribal Policy Statement that included Tribal connectivity in the federal government’s purview for the first time, correcting an omission of the 1996 Telecommunications Act
• 2010 creation of the Office of Native Affairs and Policy
• 2020 FCC opening of the 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Priority Window (which drew nearly 400 applications when the agency expected roughly 10)
• 2021 landmark $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program that has transformed the digital landscape for Tribal Nations
• 2022 E-Rate rule that formally extended Internet funding eligibility to Tribal libraries

For more on the push for network sovereignty and the challenges that lie ahead, contact ILSR’s Sean Gonsalves at [email protected].

ILSR’s 2026 Tribal Broadband Networks census with accompanying searchable map, network case studies, and historical timeline is available here.

About the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance, founded in 1974, is a national research, advocacy, and technical assistance organization that empowers communities to take charge of their local resources, economies, and environmental future. The Community Broadband Networks Initiative is a program of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance that works with a diverse group of allies, partners, and local communities on policies to improve local Internet access. Through the initiative, we also research and document what communities around the country are doing to improve access to high-quality broadband at communitynetworks.org.

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