Kinetic by Windstream says it will provide fiber to the premises (FTTP) infrastructure to 18 communities in Georgia. The partnerships are part of 49 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant projects the state’s governor, Brian Kemp, and members of the Broadband Infrastructure Committee announced February 3.
The awards total $171 million. Kinetic will supplement that sum with $133 million in private capital to complete the FTTP rollouts. The company says engineering work has begun and construction should ensue “soon.” The deadline for deployment completion under the program rules is the end of 2026.
The 18 communities Kinetic will serve and the number of sites affected are as follows:
- Baldwin – 751 locations
- Berrien – 4,737 locations
- Brooks – 3,749 locations
- Chattooga – 3,392 locations
- Colquitt – 7,448 locations
- Cook – 3,723 locations
- Early – 2,683 locations
- Habersham – 3,199 locations
- Lee – 4,234 locations
- Lowndes – 18,218 locations
- Lumpkin – 6,403 locations
- Stewart – 2,729 locations
- Terrell – 2,270 locations
- Thomas – 2,098 locations
- Twiggs – 2,034 locations
- Union – 8,256 locations
- Walker – 3,339 locations
- Walton – 4,084 locations
“This is very good news for residents of Georgia,” said Tony Thomas, president and CEO of Windstream. “Building reliable, ultrafast internet service in rural areas requires collaboration and public-private partnerships. These partnerships allow us to accelerate our deployment of fiber broadband throughout rural Georgia. We commend Governor Kemp and the committee for their leadership on this issue.”
“Through our partnership with several counties, we will deliver fiber internet Gig service to more than 83,000 Georgia homes and businesses,” added Michael Foor, president of state operations for Kinetic. “Since our employees live and work in the communities we serve, we join these counties in celebrating and look forward to seeing the benefits to the community that result from this investment.”