The “bunker” is what employees call it, a fitting name for the new high security building complete with 16-inch thick concrete walls and 24-hour video surveillance. What resembles a maximum-security penitentiary is in fact nothing of the sort, although its importance compares. It is the new building, designed specifically to house and protect all broadband services for the entire state of South Dakota and some surrounding areas. In an interview with Vernon Brown, marketing and relations manager for SDN communications, he expressed the importance of the new building for the communication in South Dakota, “I don’t think people fully understand the process or the importance of what we do here at SDN Communications. Any activity from an emergency 911 phone call to logging onto your Facebook account is supported by the SDN broadband network.”
SDN, the leading provider of broadband for the state, has been awarded a $20 million stimulus grant from the state of South Dakota for its new building. The “bunker” will serve to protect the exceedingly important connections of hospitals, banks, schools, government and private individuals statewide. Internet connection is something people rely upon and take for granted daily, and in South Dakota we can thank SDN Communications for keeping our network up and running every day. Communication is an essential part of our daily lives as advertisers and without such extensive protection our jobs would be rather difficult.
The new building will be located in northwest of Sioux Falls and is scheduled to open in the fall of this year. Extensive research went into planning the location of the building, which was determined by examining weather patterns that would be most suitable for keeping information safe. The staff at SDN is very excited to open the new building Vernon noted, “we feel like it is our obligation to protect the information that we provide.”
