New Mexico / AIANNHCE 2205 / Federally-recognized area

Mescalero

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

99.5%25/3 availability

98.9%100/20 availability

0.0%1000/100 availability

11Fixed providers

Figure 1. Location of Mescalero within New Mexico, with boundary detail (inset).

About the Tribal Area

Mescalero Reservation is a reservation in New Mexico associated with this federally recognized tribe, and it spans about 719 square miles. The latest FCC BDC filing shows 11 fixed providers and 3 mobile providers across roughly 1,964 service locations, with current availability of 99.5% at 25/3 Mbps, and 98.9% at 100/20.

Tribal Area Description

Mescalero is a federally recognized tribe in New Mexico with tribal lands. The land base is relevant for broadband planning due to rural service coverage and middle-mile access constraints.

Website Summary: mescaleroapachetribe.com

Home - Official Website of the Mescalero Apache Tribe The Mescalero Apache Tribe, located in South Central New Mexico, welcomes you to familiarize yourself with our history, traditions, and the current vision of our Tribe. The Mescalero people were nomadic hunters and gathers and roamed the Southwest. They were experts in guerrilla warfare and highly skilled horsemen. The women were known for their ability to find and prepare food from many different plant sources. The people were given the name "Mescalero" because they gathered and ate the mescal plant. It was the staple of their diets and could sustain them in good times and bad. The Mescalero Apache Tribal Government is made up of our Tribal Council, President and Vice-President. The Mescalero Apache Tribe owns and operates both Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino and Ski Apache Ski Resort, as well as other Reservation-based enterprises.

Table 1. Demographics

Indicator	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Population	3,834	4,204	4,005	3,969	3,577	3,590
Households	1,113	1,112	1,041	985	915	890
Median age	29.3	31.2	32.4	32.5	33.2	33.2
Male / Female	46.3% / 53.7%	45.0% / 55.0%	43.9% / 56.1%	47.6% / 52.4%	48.7% / 51.3%	48.6% / 51.4%
Avg. household size	3.40	3.74	3.80	3.96	3.84	3.95
Pop. density (per sq mi)	5.3	5.8	5.6	5.5	5.0	5.0
HH density (per sq mi)	1.6	1.6	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.2

Table 2. Economic & Education

Indicator	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Median household income	$34,093	$36,129	$34,963	$38,209	$39,185	$36,927
Per capita income	$13,886	$15,842	$16,267	$18,639	$20,383	$20,754
Poverty rate	34.2%	27.2%	26.2%	29.9%	30.1%	28.7%
Unemployment rate	16.9%	9.8%	11.4%	13.0%	11.5%	10.1%
HS diploma or higher	52.4%	55.1%	57.0%	57.0%	60.6%	58.0%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.4%	14.6%	15.1%	15.0%	14.9%	13.6%

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	5.5 Mbps	2.4 Mbps
2019Q2	5.1 Mbps	1.0 Mbps
2019Q3	26.6 Mbps	11.2 Mbps
2019Q4	23.9 Mbps	3.4 Mbps
2020Q1	29.3 Mbps	3.8 Mbps
2020Q2	10.7 Mbps	2.5 Mbps
2020Q3	32.9 Mbps	4.4 Mbps
2020Q4	11.4 Mbps	4.4 Mbps
2021Q1	48.7 Mbps	4.7 Mbps
2021Q2	28.3 Mbps	4.8 Mbps
2021Q3	35.1 Mbps	5.1 Mbps
2021Q4	35.5 Mbps	5.5 Mbps
2022Q1	15.5 Mbps	5.4 Mbps
2022Q2	90.8 Mbps	97.8 Mbps
2022Q3	145.1 Mbps	11.4 Mbps
2022Q4	48.2 Mbps	6.1 Mbps
2023Q1	62.9 Mbps	5.9 Mbps
2023Q2	70.2 Mbps	6.8 Mbps
2023Q3	31.6 Mbps	4.8 Mbps
2023Q4	31.1 Mbps	3.4 Mbps
2024Q1	41.8 Mbps	3.2 Mbps
2024Q2	95.8 Mbps	23.9 Mbps
2024Q3	96.8 Mbps	12.3 Mbps

Table 4. Coverage by Tier (%)

Year	25/3	100/20	1 Gbps
2015	0.9%	0.0%	0.0%
2016	0.9%	0.0%	0.0%
2017	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
2018	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
2019	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
2020	76.4%	76.4%	0.0%
2021	84.4%	84.4%	0.0%
2022	79.1%	79.1%	0.0%
2023	98.8%	98.8%	0.0%
2024	99.5%	98.9%	0.0%

Table 5. Adoption (%)

Year	All households	Low-income households
2017	45.2%	27.7%
2018	49.2%	43.9%
2019	51.9%	56.1%
2020	48.7%	55.6%
2021	49.1%	50.7%
2022	54.3%	53.7%
2023	55.2%	51.9%
2024	59.0%	41.9%

Table 6. Current Status (2024, %)

Tier	Coverage
25/3 Mbps	99.5%
100/20 Mbps	98.9%
1 Gbps	0.0%

Table 7. Comparison with National Averages (%)

Metric	Tribal	National
25/3 Mbps	99.5%	92%
100/20 Mbps	98.9%	85%
Adoption	59.0%	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	11
Mobile broadband providers	3
Broadband serviceable locations	1,964

Table 9. Broadband Providers

Fixed	Mobile
AT&T Inc.	AT&T Inc.
T-Mobile USA, Inc.	T-Mobile USA, Inc.
EchoStar Corporation	Verizon Communications Inc.
Mescalero Apache Telecom, Inc.	—
Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.	—
Tularosa Basin Telephone Company, Inc.	—
Windstream Holdings, Inc.	—
Verizon Communications Inc.	—
Viasat, Inc.	—
Babcock Enterprises LLC	—
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.	—

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%	0.1%
Fiber	99.2%	99.2%	0.1%	0.1%
Cable	0.6%	0.6%	0.0%	0.0%
Fixed Wireless	3.4%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Copper (DSL)	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%	0.0%
Satellite	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	0.0%

Table 11. Mobile Coverage (% of area)

Technology	Coverage
4G LTE	66.6%
5G-NR (Speed Tier 1)	19.7%
5G-NR (Speed Tier 2)	12.3%
Total area (sq mi)	1,604.635

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

Dec. 2022

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20
All Fixed Wireless	30.3	6.7	6.7	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
All Wired	99.8	98.7	84.3	84.3
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.9	98.7	84.3	84.3
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Any Terrestrial	99.9	98.8	86.5	84.3
Cable	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Cable/Fiber	84.3	84.3	84.3	84.3
Copper	16.8	15.3	0.0	0.0
Fiber	84.2	84.2	84.2	84.2
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	27.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	6.7	6.7	6.7	0.0

June 2023

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20
All Fixed Wireless	7.0	6.7	6.7	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
All Wired	99.3	98.0	82.7	82.7
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.3	98.0	82.9	82.7
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Any Terrestrial	99.4	98.2	85.0	82.7
Cable	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4
Cable/Fiber	82.7	82.7	82.7	82.7
Copper	18.0	16.2	0.1	0.0
Fiber	82.6	82.6	82.6	82.6
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	0.7	0.4	0.4	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	6.3	6.3	6.3	0.0

Dec. 2023

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20
All Fixed Wireless	20.4	8.8	8.8	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
All Wired	99.4	99.4	99.3	99.3
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.4	99.4	99.3	99.3
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Any Terrestrial	99.4	99.4	99.4	99.3
Cable	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7
Cable/Fiber	99.3	99.3	99.3	99.3
Copper	2.4	0.7	0.1	0.1
Fiber	99.2	99.2	99.2	99.2
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	13.9	1.0	1.0	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	7.8	7.8	7.8	0.0

June 2024

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20
All Fixed Wireless	18.5	10.2	10.2	0.2
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
All Wired	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Any Terrestrial	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5
Cable	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6
Cable/Fiber	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5
Copper	2.8	0.6	0.1	0.1
Fiber	99.4	99.4	99.4	99.4
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	79.9	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	10.7	1.9	1.9	0.2
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	8.3	8.3	8.3	0.0

Dec. 2024

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20
All Fixed Wireless	26.9	18.5	18.5	7.2
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
All Wired	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Any Terrestrial	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5
Cable	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Cable/Fiber	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5
Copper	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	99.4	99.4	99.4	99.4
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	19.1	10.2	10.2	7.2
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	8.3	8.3	8.3	0.0

June 2025

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	10.5	3.4	3.4	0.0	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
All Wired	99.4	99.4	99.3	99.3	0.1	0.1
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.4	99.4	99.3	99.3	0.1	0.1
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.1
Any Terrestrial	99.4	99.4	99.3	99.3	0.1	0.1
Cable	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	99.3	99.3	99.3	99.3	0.1	0.1
Copper	1.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0
Fiber	99.2	99.2	99.2	99.2	0.1	0.1
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	10.0	2.8	2.8	0.0	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	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	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.