Midco is starting work on a new 10 G broadband network across the state. The company is already installing some of the initial fiber network.
Fiber Forward is an initiative to increase internet speeds to 10 gigabits per second.
Representative Dusty Johnson said the technology will boost the economy.
“High-speed internet can help almost everybody do their job better in the long term if not today then tomorrow,” Johnson said.
“When we build these kinds of infrastructures we really are preparing not just for a network that will meet the needs of today but for a network that will meet the needs of tomorrow.”
The $500 million project begins with 12 communities in the Sioux Falls area. Midco will take the network statewide into more rural communities when the Sioux Falls work is completed.
10G broadband offers internet speeds that improve the time it takes to transfer data.
Journalist Laura Johnson explains the significance of Midco's Fiber Forward initiative on SDPB's "In the Moment."