South Dakota / AIANNHCE 0605 / Federally-recognized area

Cheyenne River

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

96.6%25/3 availability

93.4%100/20 availability

0.0%1000/100 availability

13Fixed providers

Figure 1. Location of Cheyenne River within South Dakota, with boundary detail (inset).

About the Tribal Area

Federally recognized tribe in South Dakota, centered on Cheyenne River Reservation, spans about 4259 square miles of land plus roughly 152.2 square miles of water. FCC BDC records show 13 fixed providers and 4 mobile providers across roughly 2 service locations, with current availability of 96.6% at 25/3 Mbps, 93.4% at 100/20, and 2.8% at 1000/100.

Tribal Area Description

In South Dakota, Cheyenne River has reservation lands managed by 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.cheyenneriversioux.com

Our Lakota Nation is comprised of over three million acres of beautiful nature with three major waterways including the Missouri River, The Cheyenne River and The Moreau River located in central South Dakota. The Cheyenne River Reservation is home to the four bands (Tiospaye) of the "Titunwan" People of the Plains: The "Mnicoujou" Planters By The Water, "Oohenumpa" Two Kettle, "Itazipco" Without Bows, and "Siha Sapa" Black Foot.

Table 1. Demographics

Indicator	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Population	8,594	8,588	7,806	7,715	7,640	7,582
Households	2,393	2,499	2,332	2,352	2,405	2,427
Median age	29.4	29.5	29.8	29.0	30.1	29.7
Male / Female	49.5% / 50.5%	50.5% / 49.5%	50.2% / 49.8%	50.1% / 49.9%	49.7% / 50.3%	49.9% / 50.1%
Avg. household size	3.57	3.42	3.33	3.25	3.15	3.09
Pop. density (per sq mi)	2.0	2.0	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8
HH density (per sq mi)	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6

Table 2. Economic & Education

Indicator	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Median household income	$44,263	$42,932	$43,321	$51,944	$54,495	$54,089
Per capita income	$17,097	$17,841	$19,161	$21,601	$23,378	$23,229
Poverty rate	35.1%	37.7%	38.2%	34.3%	34.2%	33.2%
Unemployment rate	22.3%	24.6%	23.4%	20.5%	17.7%	17.4%
HS diploma or higher	64.5%	64.1%	65.3%	67.1%	68.3%	67.9%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.4%	16.8%	16.2%	16.8%	16.2%	17.6%

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	16.4 Mbps	3.3 Mbps
2019Q2	6.8 Mbps	3.9 Mbps
2019Q3	6.8 Mbps	3.8 Mbps
2019Q4	7.0 Mbps	3.0 Mbps
2020Q1	6.8 Mbps	5.2 Mbps
2020Q2	6.0 Mbps	1.9 Mbps
2020Q3	19.4 Mbps	2.8 Mbps
2020Q4	44.0 Mbps	17.2 Mbps
2021Q1	3.6 Mbps	1.6 Mbps
2021Q2	49.0 Mbps	42.8 Mbps
2021Q3	46.5 Mbps	25.9 Mbps
2021Q4	39.2 Mbps	22.7 Mbps
2022Q1	63.6 Mbps	41.2 Mbps
2022Q2	68.6 Mbps	28.6 Mbps
2022Q3	71.7 Mbps	66.0 Mbps
2022Q4	60.1 Mbps	16.1 Mbps
2023Q1	72.3 Mbps	7.1 Mbps
2023Q2	82.5 Mbps	10.6 Mbps
2023Q3	59.4 Mbps	37.1 Mbps
2023Q4	72.6 Mbps	22.0 Mbps
2024Q1	53.6 Mbps	17.7 Mbps
2024Q2	100.3 Mbps	47.5 Mbps
2024Q3	149.7 Mbps	74.5 Mbps

Table 4. Coverage by Tier (%)

Year	25/3	100/20	1 Gbps
2015	7.3%	0.0%	0.0%
2016	8.7%	0.0%	0.0%
2017	75.1%	70.9%	0.0%
2018	79.0%	76.2%	1.4%
2019	95.3%	94.9%	1.4%
2020	96.7%	95.1%	1.4%
2021	98.4%	97.4%	0.6%
2022	83.4%	83.2%	1.5%
2023	87.0%	86.3%	2.9%
2024	96.6%	93.4%	0.0%

Table 5. Adoption (%)

Year	All households	Low-income households
2017	44.5%	20.8%
2018	46.9%	23.4%
2019	49.6%	25.7%
2020	53.7%	32.9%
2021	58.6%	37.3%
2022	64.3%	41.5%
2023	68.4%	47.2%
2024	71.4%	55.0%

Table 6. Current Status (2024, %)

Tier	Coverage
25/3 Mbps	96.6%
100/20 Mbps	93.4%
1 Gbps	0.0%

Table 7. Comparison with National Averages (%)

Metric	Tribal	National
25/3 Mbps	96.6%	92%
100/20 Mbps	93.4%	85%
Adoption	71.4%	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	13
Mobile broadband providers	4
Broadband serviceable locations	2

Table 9. Broadband Providers

Fixed	Mobile
AT&T Inc.	AT&T Inc.
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Telephone Authority	T-Mobile USA, Inc.
T-Mobile USA, Inc.	Verizon Communications Inc.
Golden West Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc.	Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
EchoStar Corporation	—
Verizon Communications Inc.	—
West River Telecommunications Cooperative	—
West River Cooperative Telephone Company	—
Viasat, Inc.	—
SDN Communications	—
BHT Investment Holdings LLC	—
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.	—
Venture Communications Cooperative, Inc.	—

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%	100.0%
Fiber	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%
Cable	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Fixed Wireless	50.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Copper (DSL)	0.0%	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	86.7%
5G-NR (Speed Tier 1)	57.7%
5G-NR (Speed Tier 2)	28.6%
Total area (sq mi)	20.645

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	54.6	1.4	1.4	0.1	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	84.5	84.3	84.3	84.3	84.3	1.0
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	91.3	84.5	84.5	84.3	84.3	1.0
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	84.3	1.0
Any Terrestrial	91.3	84.5	84.5	84.3	84.3	1.0
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	84.5	84.3	84.3	84.3	84.3	1.0
Copper	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	84.5	84.3	84.3	84.3	84.3	1.0
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	54.6	1.3	1.3	0.1	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	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0

June 2023

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	4.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	84.8	84.6	84.6	84.6	84.6	3.6
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	85.7	84.7	84.7	84.6	84.6	3.6
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	84.6	3.6
Any Terrestrial	85.7	84.7	84.7	84.6	84.6	3.6
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	84.8	84.6	84.6	84.6	84.6	3.6
Copper	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	84.8	84.6	84.6	84.6	84.6	3.6
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	4.2	0.1	0.1	0.0	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	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0

Dec. 2023

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	5.6	1.2	1.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	86.1	85.9	85.9	85.9	85.9	2.8
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	87.4	86.6	86.6	85.9	85.9	2.8
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	85.9	2.8
Any Terrestrial	87.4	86.7	86.7	85.9	85.9	2.8
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	86.1	85.9	85.9	85.9	85.9	2.8
Copper	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	86.1	85.9	85.9	85.9	85.9	2.8
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	5.4	1.1	1.1	0.0	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	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0

June 2024

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	89.2	89.2	89.2	89.2	89.2	2.6
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	89.5	89.4	89.4	89.2	89.2	2.6
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	89.2	2.6
Any Terrestrial	89.5	89.5	89.5	89.2	89.2	2.6
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	89.2	89.2	89.2	89.2	89.2	2.6
Copper	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	89.2	89.2	89.2	89.2	89.2	2.6
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	69.6	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	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	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0

Dec. 2024

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.1	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0
All Wired	92.6	92.6	92.6	92.6	92.6	2.7
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	93.0	93.0	93.0	92.6	92.6	2.7
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	92.6	2.7
Any Terrestrial	93.0	93.0	93.0	92.6	92.6	2.7
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	92.6	92.6	92.6	92.6	92.6	2.7
Copper	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	92.6	92.6	92.6	92.6	92.6	2.7
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.1	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	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0

June 2025

Technology	2/2	10/1	25/3	100/20	250/25	1000/100
All Fixed Wireless	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.0	0.0
All Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0
All Wired	90.0	89.9	89.9	89.9	89.9	3.0
All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless	90.3	90.1	90.1	90.1	89.9	3.0
Any Technology	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	3.0
Any Terrestrial	90.3	90.1	90.1	90.1	89.9	3.0
Cable	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cable/Fiber	90.0	89.9	89.9	89.9	89.9	3.0
Copper	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fiber	90.0	89.9	89.9	89.9	89.9	3.0
GSO Satellite	100.0	100.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Licensed Fixed Wireless	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.3	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	0.1	0.1	0.1	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.