Colorado / AIANNHCE 3925 / Federally-recognized area

Southern Ute

The full tribal profile includes the report map, demographic tables, broadband tables, FCC provider sections, and interactive charts.

84.6%25/3 availability

67.9%100/20 availability

0.0%1000/100 availability

17Fixed providers

Figure 1. Location of Southern Ute within Colorado, with boundary detail (inset).

About the Tribal Area

Southern Ute Reservation in Colorado is the primary broadband planning geography for this federally recognized tribe, and it spans about 1061 square miles of land plus roughly 4.7 square miles of water. FCC BDC records show 17 fixed providers and 4 mobile providers across roughly 7,785 service locations, and current service levels of 84.6% at 25/3 Mbps, 67.9% at 100/20, and 11.8% at 1000/100.

Tribal Area Description

Tribal lands in Colorado are associated with Southern Ute, a federally recognized tribe. The land base is relevant for broadband planning due to rural service coverage and middle-mile access constraints.

Website Summary: www.southernute-nsn.gov

The Government page for Southern Ute functions as a community information page rather than a long-form tribal history. It emphasizes local contacts, community resources, and links to regional programs and services. The available content is oriented toward practical resources rather than a dedicated narrative profile for the tribe.

Table 1. Demographics

Indicator	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Population	13,581	13,799	13,452	13,528	13,475	13,364
Households	5,102	4,861	5,236	5,125	5,277	5,376
Median age	44.9	43.8	46.0	45.9	48.0	47.9
Male / Female	50.4% / 49.6%	51.0% / 49.0%	51.9% / 48.1%	51.8% / 48.2%	51.6% / 48.4%	51.3% / 48.7%
Avg. household size	2.65	2.83	2.56	2.63	2.54	2.48
Pop. density (per sq mi)	12.8	13.0	12.7	12.8	12.7	12.6
HH density (per sq mi)	4.8	4.6	4.9	4.8	5.0	5.1

Table 2. Economic & Education

Indicator	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Median household income	$60,841	$63,581	$67,275	$73,187	$76,578	$75,213
Per capita income	$31,660	$33,130	$36,552	$39,452	$42,088	$42,010
Poverty rate	11.4%	11.2%	11.4%	10.9%	10.7%	10.6%
Unemployment rate	4.6%	4.9%	4.5%	3.9%	3.6%	3.6%
HS diploma or higher	67.1%	66.9%	68.0%	68.1%	68.6%	70.0%
Bachelor's degree or higher	28.6%	27.6%	30.3%	30.2%	30.7%	32.1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Queried by AIANNHCE code. Population and household density are calculated from Census population or households divided by land area in square miles.

Table 3. Download/Upload Speeds (Mbps)

Period	Download	Upload
2019Q1	14.8 Mbps	4.7 Mbps
2019Q2	14.3 Mbps	3.4 Mbps
2019Q3	14.0 Mbps	4.3 Mbps
2019Q4	15.9 Mbps	4.1 Mbps
2020Q1	17.6 Mbps	4.3 Mbps
2020Q2	20.5 Mbps	3.4 Mbps
2020Q3	20.2 Mbps	3.7 Mbps
2020Q4	22.0 Mbps	5.5 Mbps
2021Q1	28.6 Mbps	5.5 Mbps
2021Q2	30.4 Mbps	9.3 Mbps
2021Q3	29.4 Mbps	8.4 Mbps
2021Q4	32.0 Mbps	6.6 Mbps
2022Q1	49.2 Mbps	8.8 Mbps
2022Q2	57.7 Mbps	8.3 Mbps
2022Q3	45.7 Mbps	6.4 Mbps
2022Q4	61.6 Mbps	8.3 Mbps
2023Q1	77.9 Mbps	7.4 Mbps
2023Q2	72.3 Mbps	9.8 Mbps
2023Q3	57.8 Mbps	7.7 Mbps
2023Q4	76.5 Mbps	10.8 Mbps
2024Q1	96.7 Mbps	39.5 Mbps
2024Q2	119.7 Mbps	37.6 Mbps
2024Q3	121.6 Mbps	36.0 Mbps

Table 4. Coverage by Tier (%)

Year	25/3	100/20	1 Gbps
2015	9.5%	2.4%	0.0%
2016	10.2%	0.7%	0.0%
2017	63.0%	13.8%	0.0%
2018	74.2%	10.6%	0.0%
2019	91.8%	18.5%	0.0%
2020	95.3%	24.4%	2.4%
2021	96.6%	38.6%	0.6%
2022	69.7%	57.9%	0.6%
2023	71.1%	56.7%	0.8%
2024	84.6%	67.9%	0.0%

Table 5. Adoption (%)

Year	All households	Low-income households
2017	34.1%	39.5%
2018	36.0%	43.9%
2019	37.7%	48.8%
2020	39.3%	50.6%
2021	40.9%	52.4%
2022	40.0%	56.0%
2023	40.9%	61.3%
2024	39.0%	68.0%

Table 6. Current Status (2024, %)

Tier	Coverage
25/3 Mbps	84.6%
100/20 Mbps	67.9%
1 Gbps	0.0%

Table 7. Comparison with National Averages (%)

Metric	Tribal	National
25/3 Mbps	84.6%	92%
100/20 Mbps	67.9%	85%
Adoption	39.0%	78%

Sources: FCC Broadband Data Collection, Ookla Open Data Initiative, and U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates. National benchmarks are carried over from the report comparison section.

Figure 2. Speed Trends (2019–2024)

Figure 3. Availability (2015–2025)

Figure 4. Adoption (2017–2024)

Figure 5. Current Status (2024)

Figure 6. Comparison with National Averages

Figure 7. Fixed Coverage by Technology (25/3 Mbps)

Figure 8. Mobile Area Coverage

Notes: speed trends reflect quarterly mean throughput. Availability shows the share of population with access. Tooltips on the charts expose the underlying values for each series.

Table 8. Broadband Provider Summary

Metric	Value
Fixed broadband providers	17
Mobile broadband providers	4
Broadband serviceable locations	7,785

Table 9. Broadband Providers

Fixed	Mobile
AT&T Inc.	AT&T Inc.
ATN International, Inc.	T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Lumen Technologies, Inc.	Smith Bagley, Inc.
Charter Communications	Verizon Communications Inc.
T-Mobile USA, Inc.	—
EchoStar Corporation	—
Verizon Communications Inc.	—
Zito West Holding, LLC	—
FastTrack Communications, Inc.	—
AlignTec Inc.	—
Viasat, Inc.	—
Visionary Communications, Inc.	—
Ting Fiber, Inc.	—
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.	—
Nimbus Solutions	—
VFN Holdings, Inc.	—
Southern Ute ISP	—

Table 10. Fixed Coverage by Technology (% of locations)

Technology	25/3	100/20	250/25	1 Gbps
Any Technology	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	17.6%
Fiber	17.7%	17.7%	17.6%	17.6%
Cable	11.3%	11.3%	11.3%	0.0%
Fixed Wireless	84.1%	65.6%	0.0%	0.0%
Copper (DSL)	13.2%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Satellite	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	0.0%

Table 11. Mobile Coverage (% of area)

Technology	Coverage
4G LTE	81.3%
5G-NR (Speed Tier 1)	66.0%
5G-NR (Speed Tier 2)	55.5%
Total area (sq mi)	2,459.619

Table 8. Coverage by Tier and Technology (% of locations)

Dec. 2022

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	88.1	75.9	74.5	64.0	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	45.1	36.0	18.4	10.9	10.9	0.2
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	84.2	75.8	69.4	58.0	10.9	0.2
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	64.1	10.9	0.2
Any Terrestrial	92.2	83.5	77.4	64.1	10.9	0.2
Cable	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	0.0
Cable/Fiber	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	0.2
Copper	41.6	31.9	11.3	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	73.0	66.3	66.2	57.8	0.0	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	57.1	46.6	37.1	6.9	0.0	0.0

June 2023

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	81.0	75.7	71.4	49.6	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	54.4	38.0	19.8	11.0	11.0	0.2
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	81.1	73.8	66.5	49.5	11.0	0.2
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	11.0	0.2
Any Terrestrial	89.0	83.9	76.5	58.1	11.0	0.2
Cable	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	0.0
Cable/Fiber	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.0	11.0	0.2
Copper	51.6	33.9	12.8	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	1.3	1.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	61.1	58.6	58.5	41.0	0.0	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	64.5	57.8	42.0	10.8	0.0	0.0

Dec. 2023

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	85.3	80.4	76.3	57.3	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	54.4	38.0	20.4	11.7	11.7	0.2
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	84.9	77.0	71.9	57.8	11.7	0.2
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	11.7	0.2
Any Terrestrial	91.0	86.1	80.5	66.0	11.7	0.2
Cable	11.5	11.5	11.5	11.5	11.5	0.0
Cable/Fiber	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	0.2
Copper	51.5	33.9	13.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	0.2
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	70.5	65.2	65.2	49.1	0.0	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	62.5	60.6	45.6	12.3	0.0	0.0

June 2024

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	86.2	83.0	81.8	58.8	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	57.2	38.8	21.2	11.6	11.6	2.2
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	85.1	78.7	73.9	59.5	11.6	2.2
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	11.6	2.2
Any Terrestrial	90.5	87.2	83.3	66.9	11.6	2.2
Cable	11.5	11.5	11.5	11.5	11.5	0.0
Cable/Fiber	11.7	11.7	11.6	11.6	11.6	2.2
Copper	55.1	35.4	13.7	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.2	2.2
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	89.7	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	71.1	67.5	67.5	51.4	0.0	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	68.8	66.8	60.4	11.3	0.0	0.0

Dec. 2024

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	88.6	86.6	85.9	67.0	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	59.8	44.5	28.5	19.8	19.8	15.8
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	89.2	85.3	81.4	69.5	19.8	15.8
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	19.8	15.8
Any Terrestrial	92.4	89.9	87.1	72.8	19.8	15.8
Cable	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	19.8	19.8	19.8	19.8	19.8	15.8
Copper	55.2	35.4	13.4	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	15.8	15.8	15.8	15.8	15.8	15.8
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	80.8	78.2	78.2	63.6	0.0	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	65.3	63.2	54.7	3.4	0.0	0.0

June 2025

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	87.0	85.0	84.1	65.6	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
All Wired	61.7	46.4	31.0	22.5	22.4	17.6
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	88.9	84.6	80.6	68.3	22.4	17.6
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	17.6
Any Terrestrial	91.6	88.9	86.0	72.4	22.4	17.6
Cable	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.3	0.0
Cable/Fiber	22.5	22.5	22.5	22.5	22.4	17.6
Copper	53.2	35.2	13.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	17.7	17.7	17.7	17.7	17.6	17.6
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	80.3	77.2	77.2	61.5	0.0	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	54.0	52.0	44.8	4.3	0.0	0.0

FCC Broadband Data Collection (BDC), June 2025 filing vintage. Coverage values show the share of residential broadband serviceable locations by technology and speed tier across D22, J23, D23, J24, D24, and J25 filings.

Source: FCC Broadband Data Collection (BDC), June 2025 Filing (J25). Fixed coverage shows the share of residential broadband serviceable locations, and mobile coverage shows the share of tribal land area.