Officials announce $17.3 million public-private partnership with Kinetic
3,700 county residents, businesses to become eligible for high-speed fiber internet.
More than 3,700 homes and businesses in unserved and underserved parts of Cook County will, for the first time, be eligible for high-speed fiber internet, government officials and fiber internet provider Kinetic said.
The announcement was made during an open house on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, at the County Extension Office meeting room.
The $17.3 million project to provide fiber internet to Adel, Sparks, Cecil, and surrounding locations is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
It is a result of a public–private partnership between the County and Kinetic.
The County will use nearly $11 million in grant money through the state from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program, part of the federal American Rescue Plan.
Kinetic will invest more than $6.3 million.
The combined venture will enable Kinetic to lay about 325 miles of underground optical fiber cable to bring high-speed internet to residences and businesses.
“I am very excited for our community,” County Commissioner Audie Rowe said in a statement ahead of the town hall forum announcing the project.
He added that he was grateful to Gov. Brian Kemp for letting the federal funds be used to develop “expanded broadband services in Cook County.”
Fiber internet technology transmits data through hair-sized glass fibers at speeds exceeding other broadband technologies.
“The people in Adel, Sparks, Cecil and other communities in the county will soon no longer be underserved and unserved,” Kinetic Georgia state operations President Michael Foor said.
“We’re thrilled to bring our ultrafast fiber connectivity and best-in-class internet experience to more homes and businesses here in Cook County,” he said. “When we say, ‘High Speed for Here,’ we mean Cook County. We mean equal upload and download speeds and strong, reliable internet connections to meet this important county’s evolving demands for business and entertainment.”
Households and businesses may visit GoKinetic.com to find out if they are eligible for a speed upgrade and learn how Kinetic can meet their home or business needs. They can also visit or call the Kinetic Connection Center retail store at 537 Veterans Parkway North in Moultrie. Its phone number is 229-985-8000.
Kinetic’s Cook County fiber project is part of a $2 billion multiyear capital investment strategy to dramatically expand gigabit fiber service across Kinetic’s 18-state footprint.
Kinetic’s superfast, reliable fiber connections in Cook 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.
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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. Follow us on Twitter at @GoKineticHome.
