North Dakota Officials Say High-Speed Internet Goal With in Reach

(Adobe Stock via Prairie News Service)

(By Mike Moen. Prairie News Service) – North Dakota says it’s now on track to ensure all homes and businesses can connect to high-speed internet service.

Even with some accessibility issues to sort out, this rural-centric state feels poised to lead the nation in closing gaps. North Dakota’s Information Technology office said with federal approval of its latest plan to distribute broadband infrastructure grants, it could achieve 100% connectivity by 2028. That could potentially make North Dakota the first state to do so.

Broadband program director Brian Newby added that regional projects typically aren’t the bare minimum in terms of required internet speed, giving customers more flexibility to take advantage of technology such as telehealth.

“The telehealth could even emerge actually further from just a visit with a doctor to being able to show, basically, any kind of your health records or that sort of thing during the visit,” Newby said.