Great Plains Communications expands fiber-optic network into South Dakota

Great Plains Communications, an independently owned telecommunications, last mile, and middle-mile fiber-optic network services provider in Nebraska, has expanded its footprint into South Dakota. The new expansion of its 5,000-mile fiber cable network also opens the door to providing services into Minnesota.

The expansion required what Great Plains described as "extensive" boring at the Nebraska and South Dakota state lines on Highway 81 where it crosses the Missouri River into Yankton, SD. The bore had an overall length of 2,200 ft, with underwater depths reaching up to 60 ft.

"Great Plains Communications is a forward-thinking company that is able to get carriers and business customers where they need to go by creating unique routes. Boring across the Missouri River is an example of that forward-thinking philosophy," said Todd Foje, CEO of Great Plains Communications. "This expansion will help stimulate the economy of both Nebraska and South Dakota. It will also allow Great Plains Communications to offer increased capacity to carrier and wholesale customers wishing to expand their presence and reach new destinations, such as South Dakota and Minnesota."

The Great Plains Communications network crisscrosses Nebraska and extends throughout the upper Midwest. The company says it specializes in both lit buildings and custom builds, with over 90 wire centers and interconnections with carriers at the major points of presence in Omaha, Denver, and Minneapolis. The self-healing, highly diverse network supports services at data rates as high as multiple 100G using optical transport technology from Cyan (see "Cyan unveils single-slot 100-Gbps line card").

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer's Guide.