Officials Break Ground on $20.5M Project to Turn Union Co. Into Georgia Gigabit Community

• 15,700 homes, businesses to become eligible for high-speed fiber by Kinetic
• Kinetic will invest $8.9 million and cover any cost overruns
• Kinetic will lay 550 miles of fiber cable

State and local officials joined with fiber-broadband provider Kinetic to break ground on a new, state-of-the-art fiber network that will provide ultrafast internet to more than 7,300 customer locations in Union County.

This is in addition to some 8,400 county locations Kinetic already made “gig ready.”

When completed next year, the $20.5 million expansion project will make more than 7,300 homes, businesses and schools in Blairsville, Suches and nearby unserved and underserved areas eligible for high-speed fiber internet for the first time.

These homes, combined with the 8,400 other locations Kinetic already made “gig ready,” add up to more than 15,700 locations in the county eligible for Kinetic’s fiber broadband.

This quantum leap to fiber broadband will turn Union County into a Georgia Gigabit Community, in which customers are able to stream, share and download at speeds of at least 1 gigabit a second.

“The people in Blairsville, Suches and other communities will soon no longer be underserved and unserved,” Kinetic Georgia operations President Michael Foor said at Monday’s event.

“I’m a Georgian like you are and Kinetic is a local company employing local people to help other local people get the best internet experience,” he said. “This important county deserves exceptional internet that will meet its evolving demands for business, educational and personal use.”

At the event, state Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, R-District 51, said, “I am proud to have been a sponsor and supporter of broadband deployment legislative and funding initiatives at the state capitol, and am thrilled this world-class telecommunications upgrade will benefit communities across Union County.”

“High-speed internet allows folks in this beautiful area to stay connected with school, healthcare services and family, not to mention business, and is critical to the success of our region’s economy and to future job creation,” he said.

The expansion project is a result of a public–private partnership between the county and Kinetic.

Union County will use about $11.2 million in state grant money from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program, part of the federal American Rescue Plan.

The county has also committed an additional $500,000 in matching funds.

Kinetic will invest $8.9 million and cover any cost overruns.

The broadband provider covered the entire project cost when making the earlier 8,400 locations gig ready.

Kinetic will lay about 550 miles of fiber optic cable in the expansion project to bring high-speed internet to residences, businesses and schools.

“This groundbreaking signifies the start of new possibilities for Union County,” said Georgia Broadband Program Executive Director Jessica Simmons. “Technology is ever evolving, and this project will bring broadband that can handle present and future demands to this community. I’m glad the county was able to collaborate with Kinetic to expand this critical service to more than 7,300 unserved homes and businesses.”

Kinetic’s ultrafast fiber-optic broadband lets users upload and download at up to 8 gigabits a second, or 8,000 megabits a second, providing what is known as “next-generation access.”

Households and businesses may call Kinetic toll free at 800-255-8358 to find out if they are, or will be, eligible for a fiber speed upgrade. They may also preregister with Kinetic for fiber broadband at windstream.com/kinetic-fiber.

Kinetic’s Union County fiber project is part of a $2 billion multiyear capital investment strategy by Kinetic to dramatically expand gigabit fiber service across the company’s 18-state footprint.

Kinetic’s superfast, reliable fiber connections in Union County empower residential customers to gig speeds to navigate the internet safely from home with no lag times while they work, participate in virtual classrooms or stream entertainment services. Businesses from small to enterprise size can take advantage of the fiber-backed network to deploy solutions that make their companies more efficient and profitable such as OfficeSuite UC^® and SD-WAN.

To learn more, visit GoKinetic.com.

About Kinetic

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. Additional information is available at GoKinetic.com.

Category: Kinetic

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