SD Schools Getting Increased Internet Bandwidth
by Associated Press
May 16, 2013 8:21 AM
The South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunications and the South Dakota Department of Education says it will increase Internet bandwidth this summer to 159 school sites across the state.
Telecommunications manager Pat Snow says the work is part of an effort to double K-12 bandwidth every two to three years.
The minimum Internet bandwidth is 10 megabits per second. Funding was approved and appropriated to the education department this past legislative session to increase the bandwidth minimum to 50 megabits per second where available across the state.
Education Secretary Melody Schopp says teachers incorporate technology on a daily basis as part of the learning process and they need to be confident that the technology will work.
The upgrade allows additional capacity for online applications, assessments and distance learning.