Blog & Tools

She’s still learning the telecommunications lingo. But Megan Greenfield enjoys building relationships with people and that lines up perfectly with her new role as a Network Account Executive at SDN Communications.

Even with the three satellites and a cell booster, making a cell phone call in Silver City is inconsistent. It makes running businesses challenging to say the least. Luckily, things are about to get easier thanks to ReConnect.

Alliance was awarded a little more than $6 million to expand its broadband fiber network farther into the southern Canton area. The expansion will bring consistent, high-speed internet services to the Larsons for the first time since they bought their acreage 10 years ago.

Graham Beynon, a software engineering manager at SDN Communications, was recently featured in SiouxFalls.Business, as an Up-And-Comer in the community and leadership roles with the company.

Fostering relationships has been key to Amber Hopper’s personal life and career, whether on the court or over the phone. She built a career that started in athletics and pivoted to telecommunications - an unusual transition that will become clear in this article.

SDN Communications’ member/owners elected board leadership, including three new leaders to the board of managers.

As a staff member at TrioTel Communications, Heather Kranz saw major transformations over the past 21 years, from digital television options to fiber. The challenges of adapting to ongoing change are what keep Kranz engaged in the industry, especially in her new role as CEO/General Manager of TrioTel Communications, Inc.

How does a business show appreciation to its visionary? In the case of SDN Communications, its data center site northwest of Sioux Falls will be named the Mark Shlanta Technology Park in honor of its late, long-serving CEO. SDN Board of Managers President Denny Law, who also leads SDN Member Company Golden West Telecommunications of Wall made the announcement Wednesday evening at an industry dinner.

Ryan Dutton, SDN Communications’ newly promoted Vice President of Sales learned the industry from the ground up, literally. Dutton spent his high school summers digging ditches for Bevcomm, a rural independent broadband provider based in Blue Earth, Minnesota.

We’re proud to announce that Mark Shlanta, former SDN Communications Chief Executive Officer, will be inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame (SDHoF) this fall.

Ryan Punt didn’t always dream of a career in telecommunications. The Stickney High School grad studied accounting his freshman year of college, at the urging of his parents. But it was the mid-1990s, and this thing called the internet was exploding around the world.

SDN Communications' teams have plenty of projects on their plate for 2022. The fiber footprint is growing more than ever before and the SDN Data Center is doubling in size - all in an effort to support and deliver UPTIME to customers and member companies.

Starting 23 years ago, two young men working to advance South Dakota broadband services met for breakfast before every SDN Communications board meeting. Newly hired SDN CEO Mark Shlanta and newly elected SDN Board President Bryan Roth found value in the face-to-face meetings to drive success for the young company.

Jamie Stanley, a carrier management coordinator at SDN Communications, was recently featured in SiouxFalls.Business, as an Up-And-Comer in the community and leadership roles with the company.

SDN Communications sees the value of investing in employees to foster leadership. So much so, a new program is underway to further develop a culture of personal and professional growth.

Built with 12-inch-thick concrete walls, it’s designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, ensuring a resilient infrastructure and redundant utility operations. The SDN Communications Data Center northwest of Sioux Falls sometimes gets referred to as the “Bunker,” and now it’s going to double in size for potential future tenants.

One realtor calls the ReConnect project “revolutionary,” and is excited for the possibilities it will bring. “For people who want to live and work remotely in this area, having high-speed internet is imperative. This will be amazing.”

The recent passing of our visionary and former, long-serving CEO Mark Shlanta casts a dark shadow over our office. But as we try to find our bearings in his passing, Vernon Brown shares the more personal leadership gifts he provided.

SDN’s employees and Member Companies mourn the loss of its former, long-time visionary Chief Executive Officer Mark Shlanta. He died February 23, 2022, just more than a week after his 57th birthday and following a two-year battle with cancer.

The independent broadband companies of South Dakota have made huge strides in delivering fiber internet services across the state. In fact, 93% of South Dakota homes, businesses and farms served by rural telecommunication companies are connected by high-speed fiber,