In today’s technologically-advanced world, teleworking is playing a large role in the marketplace. In fact, a recent study found that “24% of rural businesses and 35% of non-rural businesses currently allow employees to telework or telecommute”, and “nationally, 2.4 million U.S. business establishments, out of approximately 7.4 million total businesses, allow employees to telework.”

Whether protecting your PC at home or defending your company’s functionality as the head of the IT department, the following will help protect the health of your computer system in 2012.

Read the full story here, in Prairie Business Magazine. Mark Shlanta was interviewed about the Broadband Stimulus progress so far and is quoted saying, "SDN’s new fiber will provide connectivity to more than 300 anchor institutions – schools, rural hospitals and clinics, government office buildings, and local, county, state and federal office buildings – across the state. The communications company is approximately three-quarters complete and has built 250-350 miles of fiber and touched more than 200 anchor institutes. The remainder of the $25.7 million project is expected to be completed by the end of the year."

Proponents of SOPA have characterized the opposition as being people who want to enable piracy or defend piracy. But that's not really the point. The point is the bill is so over-broad and so badly written that it's going to impact all kinds of things that, you know, don't have anything to do with stopping piracy."

--Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia

It’s easy to get lost in the technology in delivering broadband services, but it’s the human element that makes it a worthwhile, rewarding career. That’s been reinforced with me recently.

Just before Christmas, SDN turned up high-speed broadband services to the schools along Highway 14 between Huron and Brookings. Students and staff in Iroquois, De Smet, Lake Preston, Arlington and Volga have long been starved for faster service. They’ve been receiving their services via old, copper phone lines. SDN’s fiber delivers the service up to five times faster – 10 Megabits per second.

Five school districts on U.S. Highway 14 between Huron and Brookings are kicking off 2012 with a big broadband boost that will offer students better, faster internet tools. The Argus Leader and  KSFY also picked up the story and KDLT ran a spot showcasing SDN's turn-up of services along the Highway 14 corridor.