Earlier this year, the Office of Broadband Development released data and maps on broadband coverage of tribal areas. The numbers are high level or maybe more reflective than exact but it’s a great start on getting a handle on what’s happening in tribal areas. I thought I’d do a profile of each area, much like I have done for Minnesota Counties. Here is Red Lake Reservation

Info on Access/Households:

• Number of households (2010 estimate): 1757
• Percent Wireline Broadband 2022 speed goal (25/3): 99.81
• Percent Wireline Broadband 2026 speed goal (100/20): 99.81

Red Lake Reservation is clearly in great shape when it comes to broadband access. When I looked at Beltrami and Clearwater last fall, Beltrami had 96 percent broadband coverage (by 2026 speed goal definition) and Clearwater had 89 percent. The reservation is doing better than the surrounding areas, which is unusual especially when the surrounding areas are doing well.

There are a few providers that offer those speeds (100/20) in the area. In Beltrami, there is CenturyLink, Garden Valley Telephone, MidContinent and Paul Bunyan; while in Clearwater there is only Garden Valley and Paul Bunyan.

In 2010, Garden Valley received a $34 million loan from the USDA and in 2015 a $12 million loan from the USDA for fiber deployment. Last summer (Aug 2018), Garden Valley received a USDA loan for $20 million specifically to build more fiber.

Learn more about Red Lake reservation demographics from Center for Indian Country Development.