What Sacred Wind Communications does

Sacred Wind Communications is a privately-held rural telecommunications provider founded in 2006 and headquartered in Yatahey, New Mexico. The company delivers broadband internet, telephone, dedicated access, and interoffice transport services to Navajo Nation communities across Northwest New Mexico, currently serving 22 Navajo Chapters and approximately 1,000 newly awarded CAF II-funded homes. Its customer base is 85% Navajo tribal members, complemented by local small and mid-sized businesses, municipal government (City of Gallup), educational institutions (23 Gallup McKinley County schools), and healthcare/community facilities. Two physical offices (Yatahey headquarters on US Highway 491 and Grants on East Santa Fe Avenue) anchor direct customer service.

The company's network architecture combines fiber-to-the-home, fixed wireless, microwave, TV White Space, and copper infrastructure, backed by Juniper-powered core networking and a proprietary Network Operations Center providing redundant fiber across Northwest New Mexico. Solar-powered connectivity units serve off-grid homes without electrical service, and 16 free Wi-Fi hotspots at community chapter houses extend access for remote learning and telehealth. Notable technology partnerships include Microsoft (fixed wireless/TV White Space and Airband digital skills training), Juniper Networks (core infrastructure), and Cambium Networks (wireless fabric), with a forward-looking consortium role in Sceye's high-altitude platform station pilot for universal Navajo Nation coverage.

Sacred Wind's revenue model is grounded in subscription residential and business connectivity, with tiered speed plans priced from $34.95 to $200 per month, supplemented by federal Lifeline subsidies (up to $34.25/month) for qualifying low-income customers, equipment rental ($5/month), and customer referral credits. Go-to-market blends direct sales via toll-free and local phone lines, two physical offices, online self-service portals, federal program enrollment assistance, and community partnerships with Diné College, Navajo Technical University, and the 22 Navajo Chapters. Since November 2022, Sacred Wind has operated as a brand under Commnet Broadband, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of ATN International (NASDAQ: ATNI).

Name

Sacred Wind Communications

Legal name

Sacred Wind Communications, Inc.

Website

https://sacredwindcommunications.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sacred Wind Communications is a rural New Mexico telecommunications provider founded in 2006, delivering broadband internet, phone, dedicated access, and interoffice transport to Navajo Nation communities, local SMBs, schools, and government customers across 22 Navajo Chapters in Northwest New Mexico.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Telecommunications Services

NAICS

Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711)

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)

akta.pro primary industry

Rural & Universal Service Fixed Broadband Providers (HDAIABAJ)

Keywords

• Rural telecommunications
• Tribal broadband services
• Residential internet access
• Business voice services
• Fiber network infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Yatahey

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Residential Internet Service: Monthly subscription internet service with various speed tiers (15M-100M) available as standalone or bundled with phone service
2. Residential Phone Service: Monthly subscription landline phone service with Basic, Choice Home, and Choice Home Plus packages including various calling features
3. Business Internet Services: Business high-speed internet, dedicated internet access, and interoffice transport services with speeds up to 100M and bandwidth scalability from 3 Mbps to 10 Gbps
4. Business VoIP/POTS Services: Business phone lines including POTS, PRI, and hosted VoIP services for enterprise communication needs
5. Interoffice Transport: Ethernet, Optical Wave and MPLS transport services with bandwidth scalability up to 100 Gbps, offered nationwide through carrier partners
6. Equipment Rental: Modem rental at $5/month for internet service customers

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sacred Wind Communications is a rural telecommunications provider that delivers high-speed internet, voice, and transport services to residential households, businesses, and community institutions across the Navajo Nation and rural New Mexico. The carrier operates a multi-technology access and transport network combining fiber, fixed wireless, microwave, TV White Space, and copper to extend connectivity into low-density geographies where single-medium operators cannot deploy cost-effectively.

Product overview

Sacred Wind Communications is a rural telecommunications provider serving tribal and rural communities in New Mexico. The company offers a portfolio of internet and phone services across three main segments: Residential (Eagle Internet high-speed broadband and residential phone with three package tiers), Business (dedicated internet access, VoIP, interoffice transport, and redundant capacity services), and Community Programs (fiber-to-the-home, free educational Wi-Fi hotspots, and Lifeline discount programs). The portfolio includes sub-brands SW Gallup and SW DinehNet targeting specific geographic areas. Services range from basic internet at 15 Mbps to dedicated fiber connections with speeds up to 10 Gbps, delivered via copper, fiber, microwave, infrared microwave, TV White Space, and fixed wireless technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SW DinehNet: Brand for new service areas being expanded by Sacred Wind Communications in Navajo territory.
• Eagle Internet

Products and services

• Eagle Internet (Residential High-Speed Internet) Residential broadband internet service delivered to households across the Navajo Nation and rural New Mexico using a hybrid fiber and fixed wireless access network, available in multiple speed tiers to suit different home-usage needs.
• Residential Phone Service Residential landline voice telephone service for households across Sacred Wind's service territory, offered as part of bundled plans or as a standalone voice service for home subscribers who do not require broadband.
• Business High-Speed Internet Commercial-grade internet access for businesses, professional offices, and commercial accounts across the Navajo Nation and rural New Mexico, offering higher capacity, prioritized support, and business-oriented service terms compared with residential plans.
• Business VoIP Business-grade voice service for commercial customers, providing VoIP, POTS, and PRI telephony options to meet the voice-communications requirements of small and mid-sized businesses and institutions across the service territory.
• Interoffice Transport High-capacity transport service that links multiple business or institutional sites across Sacred Wind's network, enabling private, carrier-grade connectivity between offices, schools, healthcare facilities, and government locations.
• Dedicated Internet Access Dedicated, symmetric, committed-bandwidth internet connection for business and institutional customers that require predictable, consistent performance for mission-critical operations across the carrier's service territory.
• Redundant Capacity Redundant, high-availability capacity option for sites where continuous connectivity is essential, delivering failover and additional bandwidth to support healthcare, education, and other mission-critical locations.
• SW Gallup Internet Service Locally branded residential high-speed internet service offered under the SW Gallup sub-brand, featuring the 'Special' promotional plan for households in and around Gallup, New Mexico.
• SW DinehNet Internet Service Locally branded residential internet service offered under the SW DinehNet sub-brand, providing Diné (Navajo)-named service plans tailored to subscribers within the Navajo Nation service area.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% of Navajo homes now have broadband access, up from 0% in 2006
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• MicrosoftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicrosoft selected Sacred Wind as partner in development of fixed wireless and TV White Space technology for unserved rural tribal communities. Microsoft Airband program provided funding for Wi-Fi hotspot equipment and digital skills training partnership.
• Juniper NetworkscoreTechnology or IntegrationSacred Wind relies on Juniper network infrastructure to deliver high-speed broadband to rugged and remote New Mexico territory. Case study published on juniper.net showcasing the deployment.
• Cambium NetworkscoreTechnology or IntegrationCambium Networks supplies fixed wireless broadband and Wi-Fi solutions using their cnMaestro wireless fabric technology to tribal communities in the Western United States including Sacred Wind's service territory.
• Alliance for Navajo BroadbandstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit alliance dedicated to improving broadband access, affordability, and choice for Navajo people. Founding members include Diné College, Navajo Technical University, Frontier Communications, CellularOne, and Sacred Wind. Advocates for broadband competition and grant opportunities.
• SceyestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerSceye, developer of high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), partnered with Sacred Wind and others in a consortium to pilot delivery of universal broadband to Navajo Nation. Sceye's tower-in-the-sky approach could avoid building hundreds of new cell towers using stratospheric platforms.
• Diné CollegestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member of Alliance for Navajo Broadband. Navajo tribal higher education institution partnering to advocate for broadband diversity and create greater access for Navajo people.
• Navajo Technical UniversitystrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member of Alliance for Navajo Broadband and part of Sceye consortium. Major figure in testing and expansion of broadband via newly allocated 2.5 Ghz spectrum. Navajo Nation higher education institution.
• CellularOne (Smith Bagley, Inc.)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMobile and fixed wireless provider on tribal lands in NM, AZ, and UT with largest mobile infrastructure on Navajo Lands. Founding member of Alliance for Navajo Broadband.
• PVT Networks (Penasco Valley Telecommunications Cooperative)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRural telecommunications cooperative headquartered in Artesia, NM providing voice and broadband via landline and fixed wireless. Fastest fiber-based interconnections in southeastern NM.
• Santa Fe Indian SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNavajo Nation higher education institution established 1890. Leadership role in pursuing technology opportunities for tribal communities. Contributed to development of broadband projects.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• San Carlos Apache Telecom Utility Authority (SCATUA): Tribal telecom utility serving the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona with broadband, voice, and Wi-Fi services. Closely mirrors Sacred Wind's tribe-owned, multi-Chapter service structure and federal-program-funded deployment playbook.
• CC Communications: Independent rural telco serving rural Nevada and northern California, including Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and other tribal communities. Comparable small-footprint ISP leveraging CAF/Connect USVI-style federal programs to deliver broadband to remote low-density populations.
• Mescalero Apache Telecom (MATI): Tribally-owned telecommunications provider serving the Mescalero Apache Reservation in south-central New Mexico with voice, broadband, and fiber services. Direct geographic neighbor with nearly identical rural-tribal telco economics and federal-funding model.
• Gila River Telecommunications: Tribal telecommunications utility serving the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona with broadband, voice, and managed services. Closest analog to Sacred Wind as a tribe-affiliated ISP executing a similar mission-driven, federally-funded broadband build-out.
• Commnet Broadband: Sister subsidiary of ATN International operating rural broadband and wholesale carrier services across the rural Southwest. Direct parent of Sacred Wind since the November 2022 acquisition and the most operationally comparable rural telco in Sacred Wind's network.
• Tohono O'odham Utility Authority (TOUA): Tribal utility authority providing telecommunications, electric, water, and natural gas services on the Tohono O'odham Nation in Arizona. Operates a fiber backbone and broadband offering on unserved tribal lands using a comparable mission-driven model to Sacred Wind.
• CellularOne (Smith Bagley, Inc.): Mobile and fixed wireless provider serving Navajo, Hopi, and other tribal lands across NM, AZ and UT with the largest mobile infrastructure footprint on Navajo Nation. Co-founding member of Alliance for Navajo Broadband and overlapping target customer base with Sacred Wind.
• PVT Networks (Penasco Valley Telecommunications Cooperative): New Mexico rural telecommunications cooperative providing voice, broadband and fiber-based interoffice transport. Co-founding member of the Alliance for Navajo Broadband alongside Sacred Wind, with directly comparable rural NM service economics and customer mix.

Broad incumbents

• Frontier Communications: Large incumbent ILEC and fiber provider operating across New Mexico and the broader Southwest, including overlapping Navajo territory. Co-founding Alliance for Navajo Broadband member and primary traditional incumbent against which Sacred Wind competes on service quality and reliability.
• ATN International, Inc. Public holding company (NASDAQ: ATNI) operating multiple rural and tribal-focused broadband subsidiaries including Commnet Broadband and now Sacred Wind. The strategic owner/parent context for any comparable analysis of Sacred Wind's go-forward trajectory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/mysacredwind
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sacred-wind

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sacred Wind Communications