The state's Broadband Initiative, led by the Bureau of Information and Telecommunications, in partnership with the state Department of Education and 15 local telecommunications providers, continues to expand across the state.
Recently, the school districts of Volga, Lake Preston, Arlington, DeSmet and Iroquois have been provided with access to faster Internet.
"This is a significant accomplishment adding to the many districts that have already made the conversion to a faster Internet connection," said Dom Bianco, BIT Commissioner. "The state is committed to providing increased bandwidth in our schools to allow classrooms the high-speed connectivity they need to help students succeed on a global level."
To date, 132 out of 152 districts have at least one Ethernet connection within the district.
Nine of these districts continue to have projects in progress and 20 districts are currently on the schedule to complete the conversion to an Ethernet connection; allowing for faster and more reliable Internet access.
Construction schedules, weather, cost and manpower at the provider level are all factors affecting when services will be available in a particular area. The long range plan is to make high-speed broadband services available to every school district in the state.
"In today's world, technology is integrated into the teaching and learning process, so it is important that our teachers and students have access to quality resources. The Broadband Initiative is one critical piece of the technology puzzle for schools," said Dr. Melody Schopp, Secretary of the Department of Education.
This improvement to the districts is funded by a $20 million federal broadband stimulus grant and matched with another $5 million from SDN Communications.
"This is a large effort that impacts the education world, but it also impacts other major industries across South Dakota and could not be done without the great cooperation from telecommunication providers who have stepped up to help be a partner in this project," concluded Bianco.
