CenturyLink agrees to expand its broadband in South Dakota

PIERRE – The state Public Utilities Commission gave CenturyLink the final clearance necessary Tuesday to receive federal broadband support. The company will use the aid to deliver high-speed Internet to rural areas of South Dakota that are high cost to service.

More than 15,000 customers in South Dakota would gain access to broadband. The commission voted 3-0 to certify CenturyLink as an eligible carrier in the federal program.

“This is a huge deal,” commission chairman Chris Nelson said.

South Dakota is among 33 states for which CenturyLink agreed last week to accept federal support from the Connect America Fund. Customers in general pay into the fund through their telecommunications providers.

CenturyLink will receive approximately $9.1 million annually for six years for the South Dakota expansion. Fieldwork likely will begin in early 2016. The build-out could take six years.

Rather than by specific community, the support is available by census tract. In South Dakota, there are many tracts eligible in the Black Hills, the areas around Pierre and Aberdeen, a variety of rural areas and much of the Interstate 29 corridor.

Essentially all of the information used for determining those tracts and CenturyLink’s eligibility is held as confidential by the commission at the company’s request.

Jason Topp, a lawyer in the company’s Minneapolis offices, told the commissioners Tuesday it was “a close call” within CenturyLink on whether to accept the aid for South Dakota.

The company will need to make a large investment as well. That amount hasn’t been publicly disclosed.

Topp thanked the commissioners for their May 27 letter encouraging the company to accept the aid for South Dakota.

The letter said in part: “The SDPUC does not want to see South Dakota CenturyLink customers left behind as broadband coverage continues to expand across this state and nation.”

Nationwide CenturyLink accepted support totaling $505.7 million annually for nearly 1.2 million locations. Among South Dakota’s neighboring states, CenturyLink is accepting the federal support for Minnesota of $54 million; Iowa $17.9 million; Montana $15.2 million; North Dakota $5.7 million; and Nebraska $6.9 million.

CenturyLink declined to accept it for four states. They are Wyoming, California, Oklahoma and Mississippi. Those states therefore become open for bidding on projects that serve all or parts. CenturyLink can participate in the bidding.