South Dakota / AIANNHCE 1860 / Federally-recognized area

Lake Traverse

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

99.9%25/3 availability

99.8%100/20 availability

0.0%1000/100 availability

17Fixed providers

Figure 1. Location of Lake Traverse within South Dakota, with boundary detail (inset).

About the Tribal Area

In South Dakota, this federally recognized tribe uses Lake Traverse Reservation as its main reservation, and it spans about 1449 square miles of land plus roughly 59.3 square miles of water. FCC BDC records show 17 fixed providers and 4 mobile providers serving roughly 7,493 service locations, with current availability of 99.9% at 25/3 Mbps, 99.8% at 100/20, and 68.5% at 1000/100.

Tribal Area Description

A federally recognized tribe in South Dakota, Lake Traverse is organized around reservation lands. The land base is relevant for broadband planning due to rural service coverage and middle-mile access constraints.

Website Summary: www.swo-nsn.gov

The SWO page for Lake Traverse 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. The page includes sections on Skip to footer.

Table 1. Demographics

Indicator	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Population	11,095	11,194	11,409	11,391	11,102	11,084
Households	4,048	4,136	3,920	3,947	3,885	3,837
Median age	37.3	37.9	35.8	35.6	36.5	36.9
Male / Female	51.8% / 48.2%	50.6% / 49.4%	50.0% / 50.0%	50.8% / 49.2%	50.4% / 49.6%	50.5% / 49.5%
Avg. household size	2.70	2.66	2.86	2.84	2.80	2.83
Pop. density (per sq mi)	7.7	7.7	7.9	7.9	7.7	7.7
HH density (per sq mi)	2.8	2.9	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.6

Table 2. Economic & Education

Indicator	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Median household income	$48,984	$50,826	$53,309	$58,822	$62,517	$64,666
Per capita income	$27,080	$26,019	$26,209	$29,526	$29,816	$30,104
Poverty rate	21.4%	20.2%	20.7%	21.3%	18.4%	16.3%
Unemployment rate	6.7%	6.6%	5.4%	5.7%	6.4%	5.6%
HS diploma or higher	69.0%	69.3%	67.3%	69.6%	72.0%	70.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.7%	16.9%	17.0%	17.4%	18.9%	19.5%

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	55.6 Mbps	49.6 Mbps
2019Q2	48.9 Mbps	35.1 Mbps
2019Q3	59.0 Mbps	54.7 Mbps
2019Q4	45.4 Mbps	30.3 Mbps
2020Q1	28.1 Mbps	17.4 Mbps
2020Q2	26.0 Mbps	7.9 Mbps
2020Q3	34.1 Mbps	7.4 Mbps
2020Q4	45.1 Mbps	10.6 Mbps
2021Q1	39.5 Mbps	14.2 Mbps
2021Q2	63.1 Mbps	35.8 Mbps
2021Q3	60.4 Mbps	52.1 Mbps
2021Q4	71.0 Mbps	54.3 Mbps
2022Q1	52.8 Mbps	43.8 Mbps
2022Q2	58.4 Mbps	17.4 Mbps
2022Q3	52.0 Mbps	27.7 Mbps
2022Q4	70.3 Mbps	37.4 Mbps
2023Q1	85.9 Mbps	34.9 Mbps
2023Q2	123.8 Mbps	23.3 Mbps
2023Q3	74.5 Mbps	33.4 Mbps
2023Q4	58.7 Mbps	11.3 Mbps
2024Q1	55.0 Mbps	28.4 Mbps
2024Q2	69.1 Mbps	35.9 Mbps
2024Q3	76.5 Mbps	27.5 Mbps

Table 4. Coverage by Tier (%)

Year	25/3	100/20	1 Gbps
2015	74.1%	69.4%	68.4%
2016	75.8%	72.8%	68.4%
2017	77.1%	73.2%	68.7%
2018	89.5%	74.1%	68.7%
2019	94.2%	77.7%	66.0%
2020	97.7%	95.9%	69.4%
2021	99.8%	99.8%	72.1%
2022	98.3%	98.2%	65.5%
2023	99.6%	99.6%	67.3%
2024	99.9%	99.8%	0.0%

Table 5. Adoption (%)

Year	All households	Low-income households
2017	52.7%	29.7%
2018	58.4%	40.4%
2019	60.7%	45.0%
2020	62.1%	45.2%
2021	66.3%	53.2%
2022	67.5%	58.6%
2023	68.9%	60.9%
2024	71.9%	65.7%

Table 6. Current Status (2024, %)

Tier	Coverage
25/3 Mbps	99.9%
100/20 Mbps	99.8%
1 Gbps	0.0%

Table 7. Comparison with National Averages (%)

Metric	Tribal	National
25/3 Mbps	99.9%	92%
100/20 Mbps	99.8%	85%
Adoption	71.9%	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	7,493

Table 9. Broadband Providers

Fixed	Mobile
AT&T Inc.	AT&T Inc.
Lumen Technologies, Inc.	T-Mobile USA, Inc.
T-Mobile USA, Inc.	James Valley Cooperative Telephone Company
Dickey Rural Telephone Cooperative	Verizon Communications Inc.
EchoStar Corporation	—
Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc.	—
Midcontinent Communications	—
Park Region Mutual Telephone Company	—
Red River Rural Telephone Association	—
Roberts County Telephone Cooperative Association	—
Venture Communications Cooperative, Inc.	—
Verizon Communications Inc.	—
LTD Broadband LLC	—
Viasat, Inc.	—
SDN Communications	—
Clarity Telecom, 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%	96.2%
Fiber	99.7%	99.7%	96.2%	96.2%
Cable	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.0%
Fixed Wireless	13.6%	7.6%	0.0%	0.0%
Copper (DSL)	0.1%	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	100.0%
5G-NR (Speed Tier 1)	100.0%
5G-NR (Speed Tier 2)	100.0%
Total area (sq mi)	0.421

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	56.4	8.8	8.8	6.7	4.3	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	97.5	97.3	96.8	96.6	93.1	69.6
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.3	98.6	98.3	98.1	93.1	69.6
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	95.6	69.6
Any Terrestrial	99.4	99.1	98.9	98.8	95.6	69.6
Cable	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0
Cable/Fiber	96.6	96.6	96.6	96.6	93.1	69.6
Copper	0.9	0.7	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	96.6	96.6	96.6	96.6	93.1	69.6
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	55.5	5.1	5.1	3.0	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	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.3	0.0

June 2023

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	12.8	4.9	4.9	2.9	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	98.0	97.8	97.3	97.1	93.6	70.2
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.2	98.9	98.6	98.5	93.6	70.2
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	93.6	70.2
Any Terrestrial	99.2	98.9	98.6	98.5	93.6	70.2
Cable	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.0
Cable/Fiber	97.1	97.1	97.1	97.1	93.6	70.2
Copper	1.0	0.7	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	97.0	97.0	97.0	97.0	93.6	70.2
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	12.8	4.9	4.9	2.9	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	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Dec. 2023

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	13.7	8.3	8.3	5.3	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	99.5	99.4	99.3	99.3	95.9	70.0
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.7	99.7	99.6	99.6	95.9	70.0
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	95.9	70.0
Any Terrestrial	99.8	99.8	99.8	99.8	95.9	70.0
Cable	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0
Cable/Fiber	99.3	99.3	99.3	99.3	95.9	70.0
Copper	1.1	0.8	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	99.3	99.3	99.3	99.3	95.8	70.0
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	12.1	6.1	6.1	3.1	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	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	0.0	0.0

June 2024

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	30.5	11.8	11.8	7.1	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	99.6	99.5	99.5	99.5	96.0	70.7
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.8	99.8	99.8	99.8	96.0	70.7
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	96.0	70.7
Any Terrestrial	99.8	99.8	99.8	99.8	96.0	70.7
Cable	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0
Cable/Fiber	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5	96.0	70.7
Copper	0.8	0.6	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5	96.0	70.7
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	82.4	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	28.7	10.0	10.0	5.2	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	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	0.0	0.0

Dec. 2024

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	30.0	11.2	11.2	7.4	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	99.6	99.6	99.6	99.5	96.0	70.9
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.8	99.8	99.8	99.8	96.0	70.9
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	96.0	70.9
Any Terrestrial	99.9	99.9	99.9	99.9	96.0	70.9
Cable	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0
Cable/Fiber	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5	96.0	70.9
Copper	0.8	0.6	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	99.5	99.5	99.5	99.5	96.0	70.9
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	28.3	9.4	9.4	5.6	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	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.3	0.0	0.0

June 2025

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	31.9	13.6	13.6	7.6	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
All Wired	99.8	99.8	99.8	99.7	96.2	96.2
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	99.9	99.9	99.9	99.9	96.2	96.2
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	96.2
Any Terrestrial	99.9	99.9	99.9	99.9	96.2	96.2
Cable	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0
Cable/Fiber	99.7	99.7	99.7	99.7	96.2	96.2
Copper	0.8	0.6	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	99.7	99.7	99.7	99.7	96.2	96.2
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	31.3	12.9	12.9	6.9	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	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	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.