Internet Speed: 50 Mbps downlink; 7.7 uplink

Population: 780,000

Internet Coverage: 75% of residents

Main Internet services: Cable, DSL, Fiber

Main Internet Service Providers: 702 Communications, Cable One, Dish

Colocation Datacenters: 4

According to Akamai.com, the average downlink Internet speed in North Dakota is 50 Mbps and the average upload speed is 7.7 Mbps.

In 2016, the population of North Dakota was approximately 780,000. More than 75% of residents have access to the Internet, especially broadband connections.

Main Internet services provided in North Dakota are the following:

– Cable – over 90% coverage
– DSL – over 85% coverage
– Fiber – less than 15% coverage

Main Internet Service Providers located in North Dakota are as follows:

– 702 Communications (DSL) – 85% availability
– CableOne (Cable) – 80% availability
– DISH (Fiber) – less than 5% availability

Gigabit Internet in North Dakota

In March 2017, Midco, one of the largest regional ISPs, announced that they would start rolling out gigabit Internet services in the Fargo-Moorhead area. The project was initially introduced in 2014, and officials expected the service to be available by early 2015. However, due to unfortunate complications, the introduction of this service was postponed till early 2017. It is expected that by the end of this year, 80 percent of the company’s footprint in North Dakota, South Dakota, as well as Minnessota, will have gigabit Internet service available.

North Dakota is one of the least popular states in the U.S. relative to colocation services. A few relatively unknown providers are located in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, as well as Minot and Williston, but there is little to no information regarding the actual services that they provide.

Prominent Colocation Providers

One of the most prominent local providers is Dakota Carrier, which operate four colocation facilities located in Fargo and Bismarck respectively. All datacenters specialize in providing wholesale and retail colocation services, with a strong emphasis on disaster and business continuity solutions for customers coming from surrounding markets. Amenities include: N+1 redundant UPS power equipment, N+1 redundant HVAC units protecting all critical areas, direct connection to DCN’s redundant fiber optic wide area network services. Additionally, all datacenters feature carrier neutrality, with on-site access to over 5 Tier I Internet Service Providers and other colocation providers.

Colocation Industry in North Dakota

North Dakota is not regarded as a vibrant colocation market at the moment, and current trends indicate that this situation is not likely to change any time soon. However, there have been numerous attempts to attract investments in the local market. The most notable example is the 2015 state-level law aimed at attracting colocation operators. This law provides a sales tax exemption for equipment and software used in qualified datacenters. Currently, there is not a single facility that qualifies, so the law remains an attempt to attract colocation companies to build in the region.

Advantages for Colocation

In spite of the feeble demand, there are a few advantages for co-locating in North Dakota relative to other states. These advantages are centered around the low risk of natural disasters, close proximity to other popular markets, as well as affordability of service generated by the very low electricity cost.

Disadvantages for Colocation

Unfortunately, the disadvantages are just as many:

– underdeveloped technical infrastructure
– rather stagnant industry, mostly centered around agriculture
– the state is mostly largely rural, with more than 60% of the population living in the countryside