Broadband InitiativeAwards 29 Grants

SD’s Broadband Initiative Awards 29 Community Anchor Institutions with Technology Grants

In January, technology grants for projects totaling over $285,000 were issued to 29 Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) across South Dakota. This program is part of the federal Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunication and Information Administration’s (NTIA) State Broadband Initiative (SBI).

“A key goal for the State Broadband Initiative is to increase broadband utilization; these community institutions continue to invest, improve and expand their computer infrastructure and we thank them for helping us accomplish this goal, ” said Jim Edman, Deputy Commissioner for the state Bureau of Information and Telecommunications and project manager for the State Broadband Initiative. “Broadband technology can support successes in economic development, energy efficiency, agriculture,educationandhealthcareacrossSouthDakota and these grants will help assist community institutions across the state with just that. ”

The following institutions were awarded funding through thegrantapplicationprogram.DetailsincludetheCAIand total project costs (including the requirement of the CAI providing a 20 percent matching investment). 1. BelleFourchePublicLibrary,BelleFourche($9,407.00) 2. Bethel Community, Madison ($12,361.13) 3. Bethesda Home,Aberdeen ($12,475.95) 4. Brown County,Aberdeen ($11,830.00) 5. Brule County, Chamberlain ($12,333.50) 6. City of Elk Point, Elk Point ($12,152.19) 7. City of Veblen, Veblen ($9,522.20) 8. Community Counseling Services, Huron ($11,115.63) 9. Dakota Discovery Museum, Mitchell ($12,355.00) 10. Ethan School, Ethan ($12,101.19) 11. Faith Public-School Library, Faith ($5,828.00) 12. Grant County Public Library, Milbank ($11,392.00) 13. Holy Trinity Catholic School, Huron ($10,670.75) 14. Huron School District, Huron ($11,812.50) 15. Jerauld County, Wessington Springs ($5,415.75) 16. Lake County, Madison ($4,037.25) 17. Marcus P. Beebe Memorial Library, Ipswich ($4,468.00) 18. Miner County, Howard ($11,964.88) 19. Moody County, Flandreau ($11,534.63) 20. MoodyCounty-PublicSafety,Flandreau($12,188.69) 21. Perkins County, Bison ($7,193.06) 22. Plankinton School District, Plankinton ($10,389.38) 23. Spink County, Redfield ($12,492.25) 24. Sully County, Onida ($11,936.69)

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25. VioletTschetter Memorial Home, Huron ($9,619.88) 26. Wolsey-Wessington School District, Wolsey ($6,900.00) 27. Yankton County Emergency Services,Yankton ($6,045.41) 28. Yankton County Government Center,Yankton ($9,510.94) 29. Ziebach County, Dupree ($6,538.75)

Project funding will provide technology improvements in the areas of:

j Firewalls(aformofcybersecurity)toprotectcomputers againstmalware,spyware,virusesandotherthreatening content. j Network switches to ensure uptime and stability as well as increase network speeds and performance. j Wireless equipment for mobile connectivity and increased performance. j New or additional laptops and desktops to provide access to broadband services.

Through this project funding, city and county offices will be able to offer public Wi-Fi at commission and board meetings, schools and libraries will have more computers and secured wireless access for students and patrons, and community centers will have opportunities to offer more technology access to their visitors. The South Dakota Broadband Initiative Technology PlanningteamwillassisttheCAIstaffandtheirtechnology partnerswiththeimplementationoftheequipmentintotheir infrastructure. The Technology Planning and Computer Ownership program is one segment of the overall SBI.The primary purpose is to provide CAI’s with technology consulting and solutions pertaining to their technical infrastructure and broadband connectivity. Eligible institutions include libraries, medical and healthcare facilities, K-12 schools, institutions of higher education, public safety offices, government and tribal offices, and communitysupportlocations.

To learn more, please visit the following links:

Summary of the Grant UsageAwards j http://broadband.sd.gov/Docs/Awarded _ Grant _ Usage

_ and _ Summaries.pdf Map ofAwarded Communities j http://broadband.sd.gov/docs/SDBI _ Winter2014 _

GrantAwards.pdf

About South Dakota Broadband Initiative (SDBI):

ThepurposeoftheSDBIistoinventorytheavailabilityof broadbandserviceswithinthestateandtoincreasetherate of those services by telecommunications consumers. Visit http://broadband.sd.gov/, email broadband@state.sd.us, or call 605-773-4165 for more information.