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SOUTH DAKOTA BUREAU OF INFORMATION & TELECOMMUNICATIONS (BIT)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, Oct. 22, 2010
CONTACT: Otto Doll, (605) 773-5110
South Dakota Broadband Project Gets Funding
1. South Dakota BIT receives $3,830,087 in additional broadband funding
2. South Dakota and BroadMap,LLC delives 2nd round of Broadband Data Map to NTIA
PIERRE, S.D.– The South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunications (BIT) has been awarded an additional $3.8 million in federal funding to continue a broadband mapping project for three more years, said Gov. Mike Rounds.
Broadband mapping is the process of determining the extent, or lack, of high-speed Internet services across the state.
“The need for broadband will skyrocket in coming years, and South Dakota must be at the forefront in meeting that demand,” Gov. Rounds said. “High speed broadband can assist in building the economy of the 21st century and enhance the quality of life for all South Dakotans. Although we are well-equipped to compete with our broadband services, there are weaknesses we must improve.”
Combined with initial funding of $1.9 million for the first two years, total federal funding for the project in South Dakota is $5.7 million. In addition, the state is providing in-kind services valued at $1.4 million.
On Sept. 30, BIT and its broadband mapping partner – BroadMap, LLC— delivered a second set of broadband data to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) as part of the national broadband collection project. The initial set of data was submitted on April 30.
"Data collection for the broadband project is going very well,” said BIT Commissioner Otto Doll. “South Dakota has thirty-six wired and wireless telecommunications providers supporting this project. Data collection from those partners is totally voluntary, and we are having great participation. Because this is our second data collection we are far more comfortable with making the semi-annual effort. Our next emphasis will be verification. We will use a combination of efforts to confirm the availability and typical Internet speeds across the state.
The $3.8 million in additional funding will allow the broadband data collection efforts to continue for a full five years, in addition to fulfilling other broadband needs.
“We are excited about the new programs approved by NTIA” said BIT Broadband Program Manager Jim Edman. “Building accurate and reliable address-point data sets will be a tremendous value to many sectors in South Dakota. Providing hands-on technical assistance to all Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) has never been done before. The ability to offer technology grants to CAIs to upgrade and improve their technology infrastructures will provide great opportunities for our communities.”
The data collection and expanded broadband programs are provided by NTIA as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (federal stimulus funding).
List of participating telecommunications companies:
Alliance Communications Cooperative (http://www.alliancecom.net/)
Alltel Wireless (http://www.alltel.com)
Beresford Municipal Telephone (http://www.beresfordsd.com/)
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (http://www.crstta.com/)
Citizens Telecommunications Company of Minnesota Inc (http://www.czn.net/)
Consolidated Telecom (http://www.consolidatedinet.com/)
DigitalBridge Communications (http://www.digitalbridgecommunications.com/)
City of Faith (http://faith.govoffice.com)
Fort Randall Telephone
Citizens Telecommunications Company of Minnesota Inc
Golden West Communications (http://www.goldenwest.com/)
Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative (http://www.itc-web.com/)
James Valley Telecommunications (http://www.jamesvalley.com/)
Kennebec Telephone Company (http://www.kennebectelephone.com/)
KeyOn Communications Inc. (http://www.keyon.com/)
Knology, Inc. (http://www.knology.com/)
Long Lines (http://www.longlines.com/)
Midcontinent Communications (http://www.midcocomm.com/)
Midstate Communications (http://www.midstate.coop/)
Mitchell Telecom (http://www.mitchelltelecom.com/)
Qwest Communications (http://www.qwest.com/#offers)
RC Family of Companies (http://www.rctca.net/)
Santel Communications (http://www.santel.net/)
SDN Communications (http://www.sdncommunications.com/)
Sioux Valley Wireless (http://www.svtv.com/)
Sprint (http://www.sprint.com/)
Swiftel Communications(http://www.swiftel.net/)
TrioTel Communications Inc. (http://www.triotel.net)
Valley Telecommunications Cooperative (http://www.valleytelco.coop/)
Valley Telephone (http://www.prtel.com/)
Venture Communications (http://www.venturecomm.net/)
Verizon Wireless (http://www.verizonwireless.com)
West River Cooperative (http://www.westrivertel.coop/)
West River Telecommunications Cooperative (http://www.westriv.com/)