South Dakota Sets High Bar for Broadband Funding

The state of South Dakota has set a high bar for applicants seeking rural broadband funding in the ConnectSD Broadband Development Program. For example, the state sees fiber broadband as the “gold standard” in broadband technology. “The state has made the policy decision to approve and fund future-proof fiber projects...Other technologies such as DSL copper, fixed wireless and satellite, while they have their place in the ecosystem, are considered temporary ‘stop gap’ or ‘the only option’ technologies,” said the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development, which is administering the program, in application materials for the program. The state also “encourages” providers to contribute at least 50 percent in matching funds except when there are extenuating circumstances. In addition, providers that contribute more than 50 percent of project costs will get one extra point for every extra percentage point above 50 percent, up to 25 extra points in the scoring system that will be used to determine awardees. The technologies used must be capable of delivering at least 250 Megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and 20 Mbps upstream. Applicants get five extra points for deploying technology capable of providing 250/100 Mbps speeds, 10 extra points for 250/250 Mbps, 15 extra points for 500/500 Mbps and 20 extra points for symmetrical gigabit speeds. Eligible areas are those lacking 100/20 Mbps service.