DCN Announces Data Center Expansion in Bismarck

BISMARCK, ND--(Marketwired - Mar 1, 2016) - Dakota Carrier Network (DCN) is expanding its data center located at 4202 Coleman Street in Bismarck. Approved by DCN's Owner Companies in August 2015, the 30,000-square-foot expansion project will provide 12 times the current server floor space available at the center and will increase the center's total space to 72,000 square feet. The project is currently under construction and is expected to be complete by early 2017. 

Prior to the expansion, DCN was already the largest co-location data center operator in North Dakota. DCN CEO Seth Arndorfer says the additional square footage is being added in response to continually increasing demand for secure and reliable IT solutions and services from companies in major metropolitan centers throughout the United States. 

"The amount of data being generated continues to increase across all industries, but particularly in the areas of telemedicine, electronic patient records, financial historic data and education," Arndorfer says. "More data means increased storage needs and we intend to provide enough storage space to satisfy even global companies' needs. Customers can take advantage of our fiber optic connectivity to Chicago, Denver, Seattle and Minneapolis to access markets anywhere in the world and our private suites will allow customers storage space in an entirely secluded environment."

The expanded co-location data center will be built to the same "Fort Knox"-like specifications as DCN's current data centers in Bismarck and Fargo. All DCN data centers are designed as carrier-grade hardened facilities able to withstand F4 tornado-force winds with fully redundant power and cooling systems. DCN will offer customers private suites (selected spaces leased exclusively to a single customer) and will also offer customers flexibility in choosing cabinets for their specific business application. State-of-the-art security will be incorporated throughout the data center, including multiple levels of security, biometric fingerprint scanners, personalized combination locking cabinets, and 24/7 monitoring with a closed caption TV video surveillance system.

DCN's data center expansion will provide customers with additional capacity to house their business critical applications, ensuring 99.999% network uptime to North Dakota's most critical institutions, including health care, public safety, state government and financial institutions.

About DCN
Dakota Carrier Network, created in 1996, is owned by 15 North Dakota-based independent telecommunications companies representing 85 percent of all telephone exchanges in North Dakota and more than 90 percent of the state's total surface area. They serve more than 164,000 customers in approximately 250 communities. The DCN companies currently have more than 40,000 miles of fiber optic cable in service. DCN's corporate headquarters is located in Fargo, N.D., and its Network Operations Center (NOC) is located in Bismarck, N.D.

DCN owner companies include: BEK Communications, Consolidated Telcom, Dakota Central Telecom, Dickey Rural Communications, Intercommunity Telephone, Midstate Communications, MLGC, North Dakota Telephone, Northwest Communications, Polar Communications, Red River Technologies, Reservation Telephone, SRT Communications, United Communications, and West River Telephone.