SDN Communications celebrated the start of construction on Project Connect South Dakota at a groundbreaking event on Monday, August 23 at Rapid City Regional Hospital (the first of 305 sites to be built to).
If you’d like to read the official press release, click here. And if you’d like to see photos of the event, including pictures of Governor Mike Rounds and our CEO, Mark Shlanta addressing the crowd, click here.
Interested in reading more? Here a few media links that provided coverage of the day:
KELOLAND, Sioux Falls, SD
KOTA Radio, Rapid City, SD
Rapid City Journal, Rapid City, SD
KEVN TV, Rapid City, SD
Telecompetitor
If you’re interested in even more about Project Connect South Dakota, click here to read our FAQ sheet and see a map of the progress we’re making across South Dakota.
Renee Halgerson
Marketing Specialist
SDN Communications
As previous blog posts have discussed, SDN is growing. As part of that growth plan, SDN is laying the ground work for a $10 million building project at the northeast corner of 60th Street North and La Mesa Drive.
The new building would serve as a second operating location for protecting SDN’s network as well as a high-tech office space where other businesses could co-locate network equipment.
Click here to read the full article in the Sioux Falls Business Journal.
More and more companies are beginning to realize the correlation between IT spending and economic growth. However, that knowledge comes with a new level of confusion and a new set of questions:
· How much of my budget should be spent on IT?
· When should I invest in new technology?
· How often should it be reviewed?
· What do I really need to do?
“IT is an integral part of almost every business and essential to moving the business forward,” said Dean Putnam, sales engineer at SDN. “Business owners should try to understand the value of technology solutions as an investment, not just an expense.”
Technology can serve as an economic development tool for many businesses. “Businesses look at investing in new technology for obvious reasons like hardware failure, but they should also consider it if they are losing market share or are in a very competitive situation,” explains Putnam. “Technology helps gain market share by improving productivity and collaboration. It can also make you appear more competitive [to your customers], improve company e-tools and provide additional solutions.”
Additional insight from Putnam into IT spending and development can be found in this article from the Midlands Business Journal based in Omaha, NE.
Julie Hoyer
Marketing Specialist
We’re excited to announce that SDN was one of 18 companies chosen nationally to receive a $20 million broadband stimulus grant. Vice President Joe Biden made the announcement in Dawsonville, GA Thursday morning. SDN will be required to do a $5 million match. We will have three years to complete 359 miles of fiber to un-served and underserved areas of South Dakota. The intent is to benefit anchor institutions, such as hospitals, schools, and government offices.
SDN and its owner/member companies will be able to provide 10 Megabit per second service to 219 existing anchor institution customers in rural and underserved areas of the state and connect 305 new anchor institutions.
So, what does that mean to us living in South Dakota? These additional broadband connections will help bridge the digital gap and boost economic development. Rural communities will be better equipped to attract high-tech jobs and talent in the long term, helping them compete on a world-wide scale.
Here are some links to news stories across the nation if you want to read more about how SDN will help connect the state:
PraireBusiness, Grand Forks, ND
Sioux City Journal, Sioux City, IA
Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA
Washington Examiner, Washington, DC
Renee Halgerson
Marketing Specialist
SDN Communications
Broadband Properties magazine noted that SDN Communications bucks the trend of scaling back on growth. Click here to see its September issue and click through to pages 16 and 17 for the coverage on SDN’s growth into a regional provider.
Vernon Brown
Marketing Manager
The Sioux Falls Business Journal talked about SDN Communications’ plan for a communications tower on its land northwest of Sioux Falls. Click here to see the full story. The information related to SDN is about halfway through the story.
Vernon Brown
Marketing Manager
The Press & Dakotan’s Nathan Johnson did a nice report on the data center planned for Yankton. He also made mention of SDN’s enhanced services coming soon to the community.
Another tenant has already been secured to occupy some space in the facility. SDN Communications will utilize Project MIDY as it develops a presence in the community. In 30 days, the business-to-business broadband service provider will break ground to install its fiber optic infrastructure in the community. SDN will spend more than $1 million by the end of 2010 to deliver business broadband services to Yankton, according to marketing and member relations manager Vernon Brown.
“We’re excited to be a part of the Yankton community and to develop more business relationships in this area,” said Jered Schock, a senior account executive for SDN Communications.
Sandal approached SDN about using space in the facility. The company could assist Project MIDY in expanding its broadband capabilities if needed, he pointed out.
“SDN was looking for space and we had some available, so it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement,” Sandal said.
Click here for the full story.
Vernon Brown
Marketing & Member
Relations Manager
