Windstream is making strides in expanding its Kinetic fiber network across Georgia with a new $20.4 million fiber-broadband project in the state’s Lumpkin County.
The latest Kinetic project aims to connect over 8,200 underserved locations in Dahlonega and throughout the county with an entry-level offering of symmetrical 500/500 Mbps and speeds available up to 1 gig, according to a Windstream rep.
Lumpkin County will use about $6.9 million in state grant money from the federal government, including the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Rural Development Opportunity Fund and the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program, which is part of the federal American Rescue Plan COVID-19 stimulus package.
Kinetic will invest $13.5 million and cover any cost overruns. The company plans to lay more than 450 miles of optical fiber cable to bring high-speed internet to homes, businesses and schools.
A Windstream rep told Fierce that construction in Lumpkin County began in June, and the first round of builds is expected to be turned up in August.
Announcing the project at the Lumpkin County Visitors Center Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp -- who also tried his hand at splicing optical fiber -- lauded Windstream for “fulfilling their commitment” to bring fiber broadband to Lumpkin County and other rural communities “literally all over the state.”
Kemp added that high-speed internet is “an essential tool” that has been lacking in much of rural Georgia.
Windstream has a goal of building 95,000 new fiber locations in Georgia this year. The company’s rep said projects will be scheduled to “maximize the efficiency of engineering and construction teams and to do our part to comply with program deadlines.”
“We’re working systematically toward our year-end goal, subject to receiving the necessary environmental and U.S. forestry permits,” the rep added.
Windstream's Kinetic fiber network has emerged as a key player in Georgia's broadband initiatives. Kinetic secured significant Georgia grants in previous funding rounds, including $34.9 million this year.
Like other Windstream ventures in Georgia, the Lumpkin County buildout is the result of a public–private partnership between the county and Kinetic.
Windstream in April announced a public-private partnership with Georgia’s Union County. That $20.5 million project promised to target roughly 8,300 locations with about 550 miles of underground optical fiber cable for the deployments by the end of 2024.
Kinetic has partnered with 18 counties across the state that were awarded ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Funds. Additionally, the provider has agreements with two state electric cooperatives and has worked on a couple of small community projects in Chattooga County and Allentown, Georgia.
Kinetic President Jeff Small told Fierce in March the provider hit 300,000 passings nationwide in 2022 and plans to reach a similar target this year. Small said Windstream intends to leverage both state and federal funds to build out fiber to the farthest reaches of its footprint.
In June Windstream also announced that by this month, it would have 8-gig internet speeds available to 400,000 households across its Kinetic network in the U.S., which it claimed makes it the nation’s largest 8-gig internet provider.
Over the past year Windstream has taken steps to overbuild fiber on top of its DSL footprint, dedicating a $2 billion capital investment into deploying fiber for under-connected communities.