At the end of last week, Gary Inman, President, and Deana Wiese, Executive Director, of the Information Technology Council of North Dakota released a memo to stakeholders outlining the Dakota Fiber Initiative’s (DFI) current status. (More info on Dakota Fiber) An advisory committee has approved an overview document which is to be used by those speaking about the DFI to maintain consistency. The main points of the document are below:

• Purpose: to “provide affordable, world-class Internet speed and reliability to every individual in the state of North Dakota”
• What’s been done: funding has been secured for phase 1 research; a Request for Proposal (RFP) has been developed for Fargo/West Fargo broadband supply; an RFP is being developed for studying broadband demand and economic impact; various presentations and demonstrations for North Dakota representatives
• Next steps: completing the supply and demand assessments, and researching policy incentives and marketing opportunities

The Dakota Fiber Initiative is divided into three distinct phases, starting with a pilot in the Fargo and West Fargo areas (1), followed by a pilot of other urban areas (2), and ultimately the implementation of extremely fast Internet statewide (3).

Currently in the first phase, DFI’s supply assessments and economic impact assessments are in progress. The collected data from these projects will be used to determine the overall viability of the Dakota Fiber Initiative.

Emerging Prairie will continue to bring you more updates on this initiative as they materialize. The DFI has the potential to bring a fantastic, high-speed tool to the entirety of North Dakota, so it is a project the entrepreneurial community should follow closely.