May 2020

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $3.3 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in South Dakota. This investment is part of USDA’s round one investments through the ReConnect Pilot Program. USDA is providing the $3.3 million grant to help SDN Communications deploy fixed wireless broadband in rural areas of Pennington and Lawrence counties in South Dakota. This service area extends across 13 square miles and will provide broadband access to 275 people, 14 businesses and two farms.

The switch to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated what equity advocates call the “digital divide,” the lack of access to a working device and a functioning, high-speed internet connection, explains Allison Socol, assistant director of P-12 policy at the advocacy nonprofit the Education Trust. Recent surveys conducted by the Education Trust asking parents about their experiences in this new norm have made it clear, Socol says, “that families are not experiencing this pandemic equally, and that low-income families and families of color in particular are mu