HISTORY

Our Story
The SDN Communications executive team of Ryan Dutton, Ryan Punt, Sarah Tuntland and Jake VanDewater pose for a photo outside of the SDN building

The independent telephone companies of South Dakota connected their networks to establish the South Dakota Network (SDN) in 1989 to offer better long distance options to their customers. They have a history of always looking for better ways to serve their rural customers with big-city services.

In 1992, they opened our Sioux Falls office with nine employees.

As data and internet traffic started using the telephone network, SDN's network expanded.

In 2007, we built the Research, Education and Economic Development (REED) Network to connect all six public universities, the EROS Data Center and Sanford Lab at Homestake as a giant research tool.

Two years later, a $20 million federal broadband stimulus grant helped extend the SDN fiber network to hospitals, schools, libraries and public safety facilities in the state.

In 2011, we completed the first phase of a four-phase data center project. Each phase offers 10,000 square feet of raised floor space with suites that range in size from 1,000 to 10,000 square feet.

Today, the 17 owner companies, we call them Members, serve more than 76 percent of South Dakota’s geography. Nine of those companies’ general managers serve on our Board of Directors.

The network now touches more than 300 communities within South Dakota and eight states and offers connectivity to other regional and national networks.