Kinetic by Windstream has been awarded grants to build out fiber to more than 4,500 homes and businesses in Georgia's Clay, Clinch, Randolph and Schley counties.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced the grants through the Capital Projects Fund Grant Program to use funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
The total amount of new grants awarded is $34.9 million.
The announcement comes about a year after Kemp and members of the Broadband Infrastructure Committee announced $171 million in grants from American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to 18 counties in partnership with Kinetic to bring fiber to those communities in Georgia.
Communities covered by this round of grants include:
- Clay County - 1,216 locations
- Clinch County - 1,665 locations
- Randolph County – 1,116 locations
- Schley County – 512 locations
Engineering is underway for the projects, and residents can expect to see crews working in these areas soon, with a completion date set for the end of 2026, the grant deadline.
Tony Thomas, president and CEO of Windstream, commented:
“We celebrate every time families get the benefits for fiber internet in their homes. We are grateful for the leadership of Gov. Kemp and Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to forge public private partnerships that bring high speed internet to rural locations in Georgia that there is not a business case to serve otherwise.”
Michael Foor, president of state operations for Kinetic, concluded:
“Accelerating the speed that we are able to bring fiber to more customers in Georgia is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do. We live, work and play in the same communities our customers do, so we know the excitement of bringing reliable, ultra-fast internet to families so they can have better access to education, healthcare, remote work and entertainment options.”
Kinetic by Windstream is a business unit of Windstream Holdings, a privately held communications and software company. Kinetic provides premium broadband, entertainment and security services through an enhanced fiber network to consumers and businesses primarily in rural areas in 18 states. The company also offers managed communications services, including SD-WAN and UCaaS, and high-capacity bandwidth and transport services to businesses across the U.S.