On Nov. 15, 2018, New America journalist Nick Thieme published the article How Did North Dakota Become the Crown Jewel of the Internet in the Midwest?
The article specifically recognizes the work of DCN and our Owners in bringing high-speed connectivity into nearly every community in North Dakota, and Gigabit connectivity into over 280 communities…and counting.
“Co-ops including the Dickey Rural Telephone Company, the Dakota Central Telecommunications Cooperative, and a co-op of co-ops, the Dakota Carrier Network (DCN), cover much of North Dakota, and provide broadband to many of its residents. Like electric co-ops that brought light to rural America when bigger companies deemed it unprofitable, and telephone co-ops that did the same decades later, internet coops provide a modern keystone technology, one widely available elsewhere, to rural communities. Being able to download millions of documents in a few seconds or video chat with five people in five countries in real-time are stupefying feats of technology made casual by their decade of urban availability. Co-ops are doing the good work of making the magical mundane by turning it commonplace.”
Note: DCN is not a co-op; however, 12 of our 14 Owner companies are cooperatives.
The full article is shared on New America’s website.
