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.

In a world where many of our connections now take place online, it is often important for us to take a step back and remember the moments that changed history - not through technological advancements,but through the sacrifice of individual heros. Today, on the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, we at SDN take a moment to remember the human connections that have impacted the world as we know it today.

The state’s Bureau of Information and Telecommunications (BIT) is collecting and compiling data on the availability and use of broadband services throughout South Dakota. In order to complete this major undertaking, the state is asking all citizens to take an online speed test. This data is then collected, analyzed and used to increase broadband access to underserved areas.

From live auctions to emergency assistance, broadband is making a difference throughout South Dakota.

Watch our YouTube video to see clips from SDN's Project Connect South Dakota Ribbon Cutting at the State Fair in Huron on September 1st.

KELOLand TV reporter Perry Groten visited our data center to capture video for his Eye on KELOLand story.  I had the opportunity to watch him and his videographer, Kevin Kjergaard, shoot video for a news story.

Shanna Hockert, a marketing consultant at Midwest Marketing in Rapid City, was the winner of SDN's iPad 2 giveaway. The contest was to help celebrate the launch of SDN's new web site.