Arizona / AIANNHCE 3355 / Federally-recognized area

San Carlos

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

84.7%25/3 availability

52.0%100/20 availability

0.0%1000/100 availability

7Fixed providers

Figure 1. Location of San Carlos within Arizona, with boundary detail (inset).

About the Tribal Area

In Arizona, this federally recognized tribe uses San Carlos Reservation as its main reservation, and it spans about 2902 square miles of land plus roughly 24.1 square miles of water. FCC BDC records show 7 fixed providers and 4 mobile providers serving roughly 2,586 service locations, with current availability of 84.7% at 25/3 Mbps, and 52.0% at 100/20.

Tribal Area Description

Located near the intersections of the San Carlos and Gila rivers with telecommunications services offered by the San Carlos Apache Telecommunications Utility.

Website Summary: itcaonline.com/member-tribes/san-carlos-apache-tribe

The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation spans Gila, Graham, and Pinal Counties in southeastern Arizona, roaming over a landscape that ranges from alpine meadows to desert. Many diverse opportunities exist for the angler on the San Carlos Reservation with both warm water and cold water fisheries available all year round. The hub of recreational activity is San Carlos Lake. Currently the largest employer on the reservation is the government which operates many agencies there. The Tribe operates the Apache Gold Casino which opened in June 1994 with 250 slot machines. Over one-third of the community’s land is forested (175,000 acres) or wooded (665,000) acres). A portion of the reservation is contiguous with the largest stand of ponderosa pines in the world. Over time, many bands of Apache were relocated to the reservation from their traditional homelands, which once extended through Arizona and New Mexico.

Table 1. Demographics

Indicator	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Population	10,710	10,571	10,815	10,204	10,552	10,551
Households	2,393	2,584	2,510	2,519	2,736	2,748
Median age	25.6	26.8	27.2	28.5	29.4	30.1
Male / Female	47.9% / 52.1%	47.6% / 52.4%	47.7% / 52.3%	47.5% / 52.5%	47.5% / 52.5%	48.1% / 51.9%
Avg. household size	4.47	4.09	4.30	4.04	3.84	3.81
Pop. density (per sq mi)	3.7	3.6	3.7	3.5	3.6	3.6
HH density (per sq mi)	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9

Table 2. Economic & Education

Indicator	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Median household income	$34,359	$34,583	$37,845	$38,575	$47,516	$45,221
Per capita income	$11,040	$11,253	$11,914	$12,630	$14,595	$15,678
Poverty rate	46.4%	44.6%	44.6%	44.4%	44.1%	43.8%
Unemployment rate	26.9%	19.4%	19.8%	19.4%	16.8%	22.4%
HS diploma or higher	48.8%	50.6%	49.9%	50.3%	53.6%	53.9%
Bachelor's degree or higher	5.2%	4.2%	4.1%	4.0%	3.9%	3.9%

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	13.0 Mbps	2.1 Mbps
2019Q2	4.6 Mbps	1.7 Mbps
2019Q3	5.0 Mbps	1.6 Mbps
2019Q4	12.9 Mbps	4.0 Mbps
2020Q1	22.7 Mbps	11.1 Mbps
2020Q2	18.8 Mbps	12.7 Mbps
2020Q3	15.6 Mbps	9.2 Mbps
2020Q4	27.1 Mbps	20.5 Mbps
2021Q1	20.5 Mbps	11.1 Mbps
2021Q2	17.5 Mbps	7.7 Mbps
2021Q3	33.7 Mbps	18.2 Mbps
2021Q4	27.6 Mbps	13.2 Mbps
2022Q1	23.2 Mbps	14.0 Mbps
2022Q2	39.8 Mbps	18.4 Mbps
2022Q3	35.4 Mbps	21.0 Mbps
2022Q4	45.7 Mbps	20.3 Mbps
2023Q1	45.9 Mbps	21.2 Mbps
2023Q2	38.4 Mbps	9.3 Mbps
2023Q3	38.8 Mbps	15.5 Mbps
2023Q4	52.0 Mbps	37.2 Mbps
2024Q1	51.2 Mbps	31.1 Mbps
2024Q2	41.6 Mbps	16.4 Mbps
2024Q3	52.5 Mbps	21.2 Mbps

Table 4. Coverage by Tier (%)

Year	25/3	100/20	1 Gbps
2015	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
2016	0.0%	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	48.1%	0.0%	0.0%
2021	61.6%	0.0%	0.0%
2022	44.1%	44.1%	0.0%
2023	44.9%	44.9%	0.0%
2024	84.7%	52.0%	0.0%

Table 5. Adoption (%)

Year	All households	Low-income households
2017	26.8%	13.9%
2018	22.9%	12.6%
2019	29.4%	18.6%
2020	35.9%	28.0%
2021	39.3%	29.4%
2022	35.3%	33.8%
2023	45.5%	51.4%
2024	50.7%	50.8%

Table 6. Current Status (2024, %)

Tier	Coverage
25/3 Mbps	84.7%
100/20 Mbps	52.0%
1 Gbps	0.0%

Table 7. Comparison with National Averages (%)

Metric	Tribal	National
25/3 Mbps	84.7%	92%
100/20 Mbps	52.0%	85%
Adoption	50.7%	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	7
Mobile broadband providers	4
Broadband serviceable locations	2,586

Table 9. Broadband Providers

Fixed	Mobile
AT&T Inc.	AT&T Inc.
EchoStar Corporation	T-Mobile USA, Inc.
PCC Holdings, Inc.	Smith Bagley, Inc.
Verizon Communications Inc.	Verizon Communications Inc.
San Carlos Apache Telecommunications Utility, Inc.	—
Viasat, Inc.	—
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%	0.0%
Fiber	50.7%	50.7%	0.0%	0.0%
Cable	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Fixed Wireless	8.3%	8.3%	0.0%	0.0%
Copper (DSL)	32.8%	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	41.2%
5G-NR (Speed Tier 1)	9.7%
5G-NR (Speed Tier 2)	5.0%
Total area (sq mi)	6,523.031

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

Dec. 2022

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20
All Fixed Wireless	69.5	0.0	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	95.2
All Wired	97.4	97.4	43.7	43.7
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	97.9	97.4	43.7	43.7
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	95.2
Any Terrestrial	98.0	97.4	43.7	43.7
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7
Copper	53.7	53.7	0.0	0.0
Fiber	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	69.4	0.0	0.0	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	95.2
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	19.9	0.0	0.0	0.0

June 2023

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25
All Fixed Wireless	19.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
All Wired	96.9	96.9	44.1	44.1	0.3
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	96.9	96.9	44.1	44.1	0.3
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.3
Any Terrestrial	97.3	96.9	44.1	44.1	0.3
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	44.1	44.1	44.1	44.1	0.3
Copper	53.1	53.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	44.1	44.1	44.1	44.1	0.3
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	19.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Dec. 2023

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20
All Fixed Wireless	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
All Wired	97.1	97.1	44.7	44.7
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	97.2	97.2	44.8	44.8
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Any Terrestrial	97.2	97.2	44.8	44.8
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	44.7	44.7	44.7	44.7
Copper	52.4	52.4	0.0	0.0
Fiber	44.7	44.7	44.7	44.7
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	0.1	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	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

June 2024

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25
All Fixed Wireless	18.7	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
All Wired	97.3	97.3	44.8	44.8	0.0
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	97.3	97.3	44.9	44.9	0.1
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.1
Any Terrestrial	97.9	97.3	44.9	44.9	0.1
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	44.8	44.8	44.8	44.8	0.0
Copper	52.5	52.5	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	44.8	44.8	44.8	44.8	0.0
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	99.8	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	18.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Dec. 2024

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25
All Fixed Wireless	18.7	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
All Wired	94.6	94.6	83.9	51.8	0.0
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	94.7	94.7	84.0	51.9	0.1
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.1
Any Terrestrial	95.0	94.7	84.0	51.9	0.1
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	51.8	51.8	51.8	51.8	0.0
Copper	42.8	42.8	32.1	0.0	0.0
Fiber	51.8	51.8	51.8	51.8	0.0
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	18.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

June 2025

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25
All Fixed Wireless	27.1	8.3	8.3	8.3	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
All Wired	94.2	94.2	83.5	50.7	0.0
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	94.5	94.5	84.8	53.2	0.0
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Any Terrestrial	94.9	94.5	84.8	53.2	0.0
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	50.7	50.7	50.7	50.7	0.0
Copper	43.4	43.4	32.8	0.0	0.0
Fiber	50.7	50.7	50.7	50.7	0.0
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.3	0.0
NGSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Other	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless	18.9	0.0	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.