By Lucy Wyndham
UNDATED (NewsDakota.com) – According to Broadband Now, Dakota ranks 22nd out of the states when it comes to having solid, reliable internet access. 94.6% of people have access to the internet with average speeds of 90mbps.
41% of Dakotans even have access to high-speed fiber-optic broadband. In the towns and cities, internet connectivity is generally excellent; however, it is the rural areas of Dakota that don’t always have a reliable service. The issue comes not only with download speeds, but also with having a competitive service that is affordable. This is especially important considering that a large proportion of the low-income population live in the rural areas of Dakota.
Cabling the state
Although there have been considerable advances in wireless internet technology in the past five years, the majority of internet connections in Dakota still rely primarily on internet cables that are buried underground. The capabilities of these cables is mixed, and in rural areas, they are less likely to be updated or maintained on a regular basis. The main reason for this is simply cost. Internet companies are more likely to install high-speed fiber-optic cabling to heavily populated areas where it is going to be more cost-effective for them and more profitable for the future. This means that those people living in rural areas get slower internet connection as they don’t have access to the most up-to-date technology. In fact 39% of people in rural areas don’t have access to high-speed broadband at all.
Other technologies
For those people that are living in rural Dakota, however, there is good news – there are other technologies available, aside from cables, that can boost internet speed. Fixed wireless technology, using cell towers, can connect homes to broadband services using a home transceiver. This works for properties that are within 10 miles of the cell tower. Both the 4G and 5G cellular data services are also good wireless broadband platforms that can improve internet connectivity within rural areas. Recently Elon Musk’s Starlink – the Low Earth Orbit satellite internet (LEO) has begun providing a beta test. The Starlink kit costs $499, and access to the service starts at $99 a month.
Affordability for everyone
Now, with a wider section of the population working from home, the internet is simply an essential for businesses in the state to thrive. For individuals, it is relied upon for many aspects of daily life, regardless of whether you live in the city or the country. For the residents of rural Dakota, there is now proven technology that can improve internet connectivity all over the state and boost speeds. The only prohibitive aspect is cost. For low-income rural families, having broadband access isn’t always top of the list of priorities. Income support programmes certainly don’t extend to cable and internet companies currently. As the government looks to bridge the digital gap however, perhaps this will change.
There will certainly be an improvement in internet connectivity in rural Dakota. The next step, however, is making it affordable to everyone.