NOVEMBER 2023
CEO’S MESSAGE
DCN RECEIVES $19.7 MILLION GRANT TO REDUCE COST OF NETWORK EXPANSION North Dakota, one of the best-connected states in the country, is about to get even more connected to reliable, affordable broadband.
Seth Arndorfer, CEO
Like it or not, almost regardless of age, connectivity is part of our everyday lives. Whether you’re unwinding after a long day by watching some Netflix, are a farmer using precision ag to spray your fields, or the kids have a virtual school day, there’s always a need for connectivity. In August, DCN was privileged to be included on a tour for 16 congressional staffers by the Foundation for Rural Service (FRS). They had a whirlwind tour of eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota, coordinated by the Broadband Association of North Dakota and the Minnesota Telecom Alliance. This tour was part of FRS’s ongoing efforts to educate staffers about broadband and how important it is to rural communities. The work these people are doing impacts the way we live, work, and do business, yet many don’t really have an accurate understanding of what it means to live in a rural area. But be assured that efforts are constantly being made to change that and we were excited to be part of it. The fact is that not only is North Dakota one of the best-connected states in the country – U.S. News & World Report continued on pg. 2
The DCN Statewide Middle Mile Backbone Upgrade is a $43.8 million project. It is comprised of two elements: adding middle mile fiber route miles and upgrading electronics to support the increased network demand to terabit speed. To accomplish the network upgrade, four of DCN’s Owner companies are also participating in this grant: BEK Communications, based in Steele, N.D.; Dakota Central, based in Carrington, N.D.; MLGC, based in Enderlin, N.D.; and RTC Networks, based in Parshall, N.D. To help fund the upgrade, DCN has been awarded a $19.7 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), with the remaining $24 million coming from DCN and the participating subrecipients. Over the past decade, DCN’s 13 Owner companies and DCN have invested more than $1 billion in North Dakota’s broadband infrastructure. “The demand for broadband capacity continues to grow, and this grant provides critical funding that allows DCN and our Owners to continue providing customers reliable, high-speed connectivity at an affordable price,” explained Seth Arndorfer, DCN CEO. “This middle mile infrastructure provides the crucial connection from the greater internet to the end user. It’s not something we think about every day, but without a reliable middle mile, commerce grinds to a halt.” continued on pg. 2
CEO’S MESSAGE, con’t from page 1
MIDDLE MILE GRANT, con’t from page 1
ranked us #1 for access to gigabit internet – we are keeping our foot on the gas pedal to make it even better. As you’ll see in this issue, DCN and our Owner companies continue to expand the fiber optic network and in 2024 will collectively spend about $120 million to enhance the network. Wow, right?! But the fact is that our average investment in the network has been $100 million a year over the past 10 years.
“Middle mile” refers to the segment of a broadband network that connects the user’s core network to the local network, connecting the global internet to the end user. The middle mile typically serves as the backbone for a region and does not directly connect end-user locations.
But connectivity is most valuable when it’s accompanied by resiliency. We have to make sure you can always count on having connection to your data even if there is an issue. The NTIA grant that DCN and four of our Owners received will make that reliability even better for everyone across the state. Resiliency and reliability go hand in hand, which is why DCN and our Owner companies have been asked to partner with the North Dakota Association of Counties to take the state’s emergency 911 system to the next level to make sure this critical service is always operational. An important part of our work is making sure that you are not only connected, but that you can count on your connection whether it’s in the face of an emergency or the normal course of doing business. Speaking of reliability, I would like to thank Sandy Dallmann who recently retired after serving DCN, our Owners, and customers with reliability and responsiveness for more than 11 years. We wish Sandy a very happy retirement!
DCN will add five new network segments (shown below in red) across the state: Bismarck to Carrington, Jamestown to Carrington, Devils Lake to Carrington, Fargo to Carrington, and Alexander to Max. These segments will add 612.99 leased fiber route miles to DCN’s middle mile backbone infrastructure. BEK will add 28.4 miles to their middle mile backbone infrastructure, and Dakota Central will add 233.2 miles to their middle mile backbone infrastructure. Altogether, the project will add 874.59 fiber route miles across the state.
Estimated new network segments, shown in red, funded by the NTIA grant.
These additional fiber miles will create a fully meshed topology within North Dakota, meaning that if there is any kind of problem at one point in the state, it can seamlessly reroute and not affect the entire network, adding redundancy, resiliency, and survivability to this critical infrastructure. The second element, upgrading to terabit-capable electronics will support the increased network demand and ensure the network has the capacity to fulfill the needs of anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals, and public safety entities as they provide critical services to the citizens of North Dakota. “This program is unique because DCN’s middle mile backbone infrastructure connects all of North Dakota through our 13 Owner companies and our combined fiber infrastructure,” added Arndorfer. “By expanding DCN’s fiber optic backbone and network capacity, all North Dakotans benefit. This network upgrade will enable DCN to provide massive capacity to enterprises, hyperscalers, and our Owner companies with terabit speeds, furthering North Dakota’s position to support emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, precision ag, and autonomy.” It is estimated that the entire project will be complete by year end 2025.
IMPROVED 911 SERVICES LAUNCHED IN FIRST NORTH DAKOTA LOCATIONS
DCN HIRES OPDAHL, JOHNSON, RETZER SHIFTS
North Dakota has deployed the state’s first end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP) 911 service in support of the state’s transition to Next Generation 911 (NG911). This transition from analog to IP-based connectivity means the system that carries emergency 911 calls will be more capable, faster, and less vulnerable to 911 service interruptions.
DCN has hired Travis Opdahl as Network Operations Center manager in Bismarck and Mary Johnson as an accountant in Fargo, and Gregg Retzer has shifted his focus to transport.
Traditional 911 services use analog circuits to reach the state’s 911 system. NG911 migrates that infrastructure to a flexible, secure broadband infrastructure that can carry a much broader range of communication signals such as text, picture, or video. The IP-based network allows information to flow seamlessly across the 911 system, from the public to first responders and beyond. The North Dakota Association of Counties (NDACo) contracted with Lumen to provide NG911 for all 911 call centers – known as public safety answering points (PSAPs) – in the state. Dakota Carrier Network (DCN) provides statewide network connectivity between 13 independent telecommunication companies and Lumen. The NG911 network also requires a telecommunications switch to deliver individual calls to the 911 system and route each call to the appropriate PSAP. SRT Communications is the pilot telecommunications company and assisted with local network design. NDACo, DCN, and SRT collaborated to deliver end-to-end IP 911 calls from SRT subscribers to seven PSAPs. “SRT is proud to be part of the first deployment alongside DCN and NDACo. We are committed to public safety and have been integral to delivering critical emergency services to the most remote corners of our service area. The NG911 system leverages the latest technology to ensure 911 is available and reliable,” said Shawn Grosz, SRT Chief Technology Officer. “The work done on behalf of DCN and piloted by SRT completes modernization work on the final portions of the 911 network still using analog technology,” said Jason Horning, Next Generation 9-1-1 Program Manager for NDACo. “We are grateful for their leadership and excited for the public to benefit from the improved reliability and the future opportunities that the new network design provides.” Seth Arndorfer, DCN CEO added, “911 is a critical service that must work every time. The rollout in SRT territory was flawless and we’re already working in other parts of the state, with anticipated statewide completion in third quarter 2024. Then, every North Dakotan – citizens and first responders – can be confident 911 connectivity will be there when they need it.” The faster, more flexible and efficient NG911 system offers benefits to callers and first responders alike. Callers can get help quickly from any device at any time, and first responders can share life-saving information instantly.
As NOC manager, Opdahl will plan, organize, and manage the staff and overall NOC operations to ensure the stability of DCN’s network infrastructure. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from NDSU. Prior to joining DCN, he worked in broadband engineering and operations for 17 years. Because of the additional workload in transport created by the NTIA grant, long-time NOC manager/transport engineer Gregg Retzer is shifting his focus solely to the role of transport engineer. He will work with Opdahl through the NOC manager transition. Johnson is responsible for a variety of accounting duties including primary responsibility for accounts receivable functions pertaining to customer billings and cash receipts, along with other general accounting duties. She has more than 25 years of experience as an accountant. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Moorhead State University.
Corner to corner connectivity
dakotacarrier.com
TEAM EXPANDS EXPERTISE Several members of the DCN team have earned certifications that will help them to better serve DCN customers and Owners, as well as keep the network secure. • Nathan Briggs, Ethernet/IP technician, earned CompTIA Network+ certification. He has been with DCN since early 2023. • Sheldon Dacar, Ethernet/IP technician, earned Nokia Certified Network Routing Specialist I certification. Dacar joined DCN in 2017. • Lisa Fisher, sales support representative, earned certification as a Project Management Professional® from the Project Management Institute. She has been on the DCN team since 2017.
Center Virtualization 2023 as well as the designation Veeam Certified Engineer. He joined DCN in 2021. • Tara Taylor, Ethernet/IP technician, earned CompTIA Network+ and Nokia Certified Network Routing Specialist I certifications. She has been with DCN since 2015. “Staying current with certifications is crucial,” said DCN CEO Seth Arndorfer. “Industry certifications ensure our employees stay at the forefront of technology and that we’re delivering innovative solutions to our customers and Owners.” Briggs, Dacar, Rasmussen, and Taylor are based in the Bismarck office and Fisher is in Fargo. All serve customers throughout North Dakota and beyond. Top row, L to R: Nathan Briggs, Sheldon Dacar Bottom row, L to R:
• Branden Rasmussen, cloud services specialist, earned recertification as a VMware Certified Professional – Data
Don’t wonder, “Where on earth is my data?”
Lisa Fisher, Branden Rasmussen, Tara Taylor
With DCN, you know where your cloud data is stored: right here in North Dakota. Contact us today to learn more about DCN’s cloud storage solutions or to schedule a tour in Fargo or Bismarck.
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