Below you’ll find our guide on the internet services and connections available in South Dakota. We cover who the major and local internet service providers are, what the 3G coverage looks like, what internet access students at South Dakota colleges can expect and how to get it, and a shortlist of the free wi-fi hotspots.
Find the Best Internet Service Provider in Your Area of South Dakota
Local Residential Internet Service Providers
What we have here are the internet service providers that are local to South Dakoa (and maybe surrounding states) and focus on residential connections. Their details, including bandwidth/speed and prices are below.
- Northern Valley Communications: NVC has high-speed internet access with up to 25 Mb download for $43.95/month and up to 50 Mb download for $53.95/month. Call them at 888-919-8945.
- Midcontinent Communications: Midcontinent Communications has internet service package depending on the location. For example, they have MidcoNet Limited for $20.95 with download speed of up to 1 Mbps. They also have MidcoNet Xstream Wideband 1.0 for $44.95 with download speed of up to 30 Mbps, or MidcoNet Xstream Wideband 2.0 for $64.95 with download speed of up to 50 Mbps. Their extreme package is the MidcoNet Xstream Wideband 3.0 for $104.95 with download speed of up to 100 Mbps. To know the available packages in your area, you can call them at 800.888.1300.
Local Business Internet Service Providers
Here are ISPs that are local to South Dakota, but instead focus on small businesses.
- SDN Communications: SDN Communications only offer business broadband service to its customers. They have the T1 package with a download speed of up to 1.5 Mbps and a DS3 (also known as T3) package with a download speed of 45 Mbps. Price is no listed on their site but you can call them at 800-247-1442 for more details.
- Local Link: DSL broadband service from Local Link can connect your employees to the Internet at up to 1.54 Mbps.When you sign up for DSL service with Local Link, they’ll help you choose the connection speed to match your needs, beginning at 128K. Call them at 888-200-2120 for more information and to request a price quotation.
- Swiftel: Swiftel offers DSL internet business package DSL (business) with download speeds of up to 1.5Mbps and upload speeds up 1.5 Mbps. They also have a Fiberpack (business) package with download speeds up to 15 Mbps and upload speeds up to 3 Mbps. To request a price quote, call them at (605) 692-6211.
South Dakota Internet Connections and Coverage
Below is information on the internet speeds and 3G coverage in South Dakota, starting with the speeds first.
The average speed for the state of South Dakota is 16.96 Mbps, which when compared to the nation as a whole at 12.55 Mbps, is well above average.
The 5 cities with the fastest internet speed in South Dakota are:
- Watertown – 25.20 Mbps
- Vermillion – 23.03 Mbps
- Sioux Falls – 21.38 Mbps
- Pierre – 20.88 Mbps
- Yankton – 20.41 Mbps
The 5 fastest internet service providers in South Dakota are:
- Midcontinent Communications – 24.03 Mbps
- Knology – 11.61 Mbps
- SWIFTEL Communications – 11.42 Mbps
- Golden West Telecommunicatinos – 10.97 Mbps
- Mediacom – 10.54 Mbps
Please keep in mind that these speeds are subject to change at any time. For the most current speeds and lists, check out the South Dakota page at NetIndex.com.
Mobile 3G Internet Coverage for South Dakota
In this section we explain a little bit about what you will in regards to the 3G mobile coverage in South Dakota, as well as why, when possible. Keep in mind that this can change at any time, so you should check each mobile provider’s coverage map to make sure there is coverage in your area before signing up.
So, to get started — South Dakota’s terrain is covered by high plains and forests, so the northwestern area of the state doesn’t have much mobile coverage. Here are the top 3 mobile providers in the state and roughly what their coverage looks like.
AT&T: South Dakota has good 3G mobile coverage from AT&T for the most part. It’s only a small part in the northern portion that has little (or no) 3G internet.
Verizon: Verizon’s coverage for mobile internet seems to be less in the northwestern area where there’s a reservation land and high plains.
Clear: Only a few major cities in South Dakota have Clear mobile coverage such as Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Pierre.
Top 5 Colleges in South Dakota & Their Internet Access
If you’re planning on attending college in South Dakota then you’ll want to figure out whether or not your college of choice offers internet access, and if so, how you need to go about getting it. We’ve already done some of the legwork for you, providing that information for the top 5 colleges in the state of South Dakota.
South Dakota State University (SDSU)
To connect wirelessly to the SDSU internet on campus, students only need to connect to the JacksUnwired network. There is also ResNet, which is the high speed internet access through the student residential network. All you need is to set up your computer on your first day in the residence hall.
University of South Dakota (USD)
There are two wireless network connections for USD, the “university” and “university-guest” networks. The secured “university” network requires a USD username and password to connect while the “university-guest” does not need any log-in details.
Black Hills State University (BHSU)
Black Hills State University offers FREE wireless Internet to Faculty, Staff, and Students on campus. WiFi coverage can be found in the Library, Student Union Market Place, Jacket Legacy Room lobby, Meier Hall lobby and recital hall, Jonas Academic Computer labs, and the Young Center lobby and Hall of Fame Room. These locations currently have a wireless “hotspot” available for public use. Guest at BHSU can use the campus wireless to access the Internet. Guests have limited access and are subject to rules and regulations of the state and university.
Northern State University (NSU)
The entire campus is wireless. Northern also has nearly 600 student access computers, more than 25 labs, more than 50 smart classrooms, 12 videoconferencing studios and one of the state’s first high definition videoconferencing studios. In order to connect to the wireless internet, students and staff need to have their username and password set up.
Augustana College
Students can connect to the secure wireless network, but they need to login using their Augustana network username and password. For guests on campus, there’s a Guest Access button to connect without the log-in details.
Free Internet Access Spots in South Dakota
If you want to check out other free WiFi Spots in the state of South Dakotsa, youcan check these places:
- Lakewood Mall Food Court in Aberdeen
- University Lutheran Center in Brookins
- Palisades Oil Mini Mart in Garretson
- Monkey Rock in Sturgis
- No Name City RV & Cabins in Sturgis
Please note that these are not all of the free wi-fi hotspots in South Dakota, but merely a shortlist of some of the more popular areas to get free wi-fi access.