Construction crews involved are part of the company’s ongoing hiring initiative to deploy fiber across the commonwealth

At the intersection of Cole and Lake roads in rural Atlantic, Pennsylvania, State Senator Michele Brooks, State Representative Parke Wentling, a representative from the office of U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, local officials and community leaders joined representatives from Kinetic by Windstream to celebrate the beginning of a fiber broadband deployment project through the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I. This is the first RDOF project in Pennsylvania utilizing crews Kinetic has been onboarding over the past year to beef up the company’s internal construction capabilities as it continues its multi-year fiber expansion across the commonwealth.

“This is such a good day for our neighbors in Crawford County,” said Susan Schraibman, president of state operations for Kinetic. “We know that robust broadband is an essential service. That’s why we’re participating in network expansion partnerships at the federal, state and local levels to deliver future-proof fiber broadband connectivity to our customers. When we say in our ads that we deliver 'internet for here,' we mean wherever you are, places like this. Places that are often described in terms of an intersection on the highway. These are the places many of our customers call home.”

When complete, this project will bring fiber internet to 100 homes and businesses. More Crawford County projects are planned, eventually delivering fiber to more than 2,900 homes and businesses. Over the next six years, under the federal RDOF program, Kinetic will deliver fiber to 53,800 locations across the commonwealth.

“Fiberoptic internet is true infrastructure, and Kinetic by Windstream’s expansion into more rural areas of Northwest Pennsylvania is essential for keeping businesses and homes connected,” said Congressman Kelly (R – PA). “Roughly one-in-five Pennsylvania homes doesn’t have access to broadband internet, so access to fiber now further enhances our region’s connectivity. I applaud their efforts and commitment in Crawford County because this will have a real and immediate return on investment for everyone involved.”

RDOF was designed to support network upgrades to bring broadband to unserved rural areas that would have been cost-prohibitive without a public-private partnership. These projects will deliver ultra-fast 1 Gigabit broadband to some of Kinetic’s most rural customers.

“All levels of government have worked together to prioritize broadband service to underserved and unserved areas of our communities,” Sen. Brooks said. “With broadband connectivity and reliability a necessity for families, schools, farms, hospitals and businesses, I appreciate Kinetic by Windstream’s commitment to ensuring communities have this service and to strengthening its capabilities. I look forward to continuing to partner with Kinetic to enhance the availability of these services.”

While this is the first RDOF project in Pennsylvania using new Kinetic crews, the company has already announced public-private partnerships in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and New Mexico, with more on the way.

“We are very pleased with the work Kinetic by Windstream has been doing throughout Pennsylvania to get high speed broadband to unserved and underserved areas,” said Richard Mangel, vice president of Pennsylvania Grange. “Broadband has been the major legislative issue for many years for the Grange. This is one of many projects that has enabled us to start to see a light at the end of the tunnel. We are not there yet, but we can truthfully say, we are making progress.”

In addition to public private partnerships, Kinetic is simultaneously undergoing a $2 billion, multi-year initiative, funded by private capital, to dramatically expand gigabit internet service across its 18-state footprint.

To learn more, visit GoKinetic.com.

About Kinetic

Kinetic by Windstream is a business unit of Windstream Holdings, a privately held Fortune® 1000 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.

From Fortune. ©2021 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license. Fortune and Fortune 1000 are registered trademarks of Fortune Media IP Limited and are used under license. Fortune is not affiliated with, and does not endorse products or services of, Windstream.

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