In a 10,000-square mile area of southeastern North Dakota, 100 percent of one telecommunication company's customers are connected to the Internet by fiber-optic lines. That's remarkable, reports Dakotafire, given that just two years ago only 3 percent of U.S. households were connected to the Internet via their computers by fiber-optic technology. It begs the question: How did this happen in this rural area?
Heidi Martilla-Losure writes that when Dickey Rural Networks of Ellendale, N.D., saw its copper transmission equipment needed replacing, it chose fiber-optic technology, which works more efficiently over long distances, and can provide incentives for economic development. With a boost from a federal grant to Dakota Central Telecommunications to provide the upgrades, the area became "the largest all-fiber network in the U.S., possibly the world."
Now the schools in the region are offering more long-distance learning options and are providing more technology in the classroom. The local hospital has connected to out-of-region, board-certified specialists that provide instant emergency assistance to far-flung patients.
Martilla-Losure reports that other telecom companies in the state are taking up the challenge to provide more rural communities with more fiber-optic range and speed than ever could have been imagined even a few months ago.
"Dakotafire is a new journalism project that pools the resources of community newspapers and rural experts to report on issues of importance to rural communities in the James River watershed area of North and South Dakota," it says on its website. Its coverage area (right) is seven counties in North Dakota and 14 in South Dakota.
The three-year project is part of the Knight Community Information Challenge of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which gave it $240,000. It got $60,000 from the South Dakota Community Foundation, and additional support from Dacotah Bank, other foundations, and corporate and individual sponsors. It is run by Dakotafire Media LLC, of Frederick, S.D., a firm owned by Marttila-Losure and Troy McQuillen. For more about it, go here.
Heidi Martilla-Losure writes that when Dickey Rural Networks of Ellendale, N.D., saw its copper transmission equipment needed replacing, it chose fiber-optic technology, which works more efficiently over long distances, and can provide incentives for economic development. With a boost from a federal grant to Dakota Central Telecommunications to provide the upgrades, the area became "the largest all-fiber network in the U.S., possibly the world."
Now the schools in the region are offering more long-distance learning options and are providing more technology in the classroom. The local hospital has connected to out-of-region, board-certified specialists that provide instant emergency assistance to far-flung patients.
Martilla-Losure reports that other telecom companies in the state are taking up the challenge to provide more rural communities with more fiber-optic range and speed than ever could have been imagined even a few months ago.
The three-year project is part of the Knight Community Information Challenge of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which gave it $240,000. It got $60,000 from the South Dakota Community Foundation, and additional support from Dacotah Bank, other foundations, and corporate and individual sponsors. It is run by Dakotafire Media LLC, of Frederick, S.D., a firm owned by Marttila-Losure and Troy McQuillen. For more about it, go here.
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