Windstream added 12,900 new Kinetic broadband customers in the third quarter and pushed its fiber-based 1-Gig service into more locations.
For the first nine months of this year, Kinetic has added a total of 53,000 broadband customers, putting it on track to meet its 2020 goal of 60,000 net adds. Kinetic also extended its fiber gigabit services to 325,000 new locations over the same timeframe.
RELATED: Windstream shakes free from Chapter 11 bankruptcy
As a privately-held company following its exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, Windstream isn't required to report its earnings, but it did provide the broadband update on Monday.
“Kinetic is making faster broadband speeds available to more customers across our rural footprint, and they are responding,” said Jeff Small, president of Kinetic. “Today, 12 percent of our customers can get one-gigabit speeds, and 44 percent can get 100 megabits per second or greater. And there’s more to come as we begin a nearly $2 billion initiative to dramatically expand our fiber footprint and gigabit internet service.”
Through the first six months of this year, Windstream deployed fiber to approximately 100,000 new locations to enable gigabit-capable services. Due to those network upgrades, Windstream added more than 40,000 net new subscribers in the first six months of 2020 for its Kinetic broadband service.
As part of its Chapter 11 restructuring, Windstream shed more than $4 billion in debt and came away with approximately $2 billion in hand to fuel new growth as a privately-held company.
Windstream CEO Tony Thomas has said the company would use some of the $2 billion to deliver 1 Gig internet speed to approximately half of its Kinetic broadband footprint that serves consumers and small businesses. Using the same funding bucket, Windstream also plans to deploy more fiber to enable the faster internet speeds.
Last month, Windstream was among the 386 service providers that qualified to bid in the first auction for the $20 billion, 10-year Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). Bidding began near the end of October.