Georgia Awards Windstream Millions in Grants

Windstream Holdings LLC of Little Rock has been awarded $8.5 million in grants to deploy broadband infrastructure in Georgia.

The funds are a portion of $15 million in state awards to improve connectivity for communities, households, businesses and anchor institutions, the state said in a news release.

The grant amounts and project locations are:

• Calhoun County, 1,425 locations, $6.3 million
• Echols County, 420 locations, $1.2 million
• Webster County, 299 locations, $985,147

In addition to the grant money from the state, Kinetic will contribute $11.2 million to the projects, bringing the total capital investment for 2,100 locations in these communities to $19.7 million.

The projects are set to be completed by the end of 2026.

It’s not the first time the state has partnered with Kinetic, the company’s fiber internet service, to expand broadband access in Georgia. Kinetic in January was awarded $35 million in grants to build out fiber to more than 4,500 homes and businesses in Clay, Clinch, Randolph and Schley counties.

And in 2021, the state awarded $171 million in grants from American Rescue Plan Act to 18 counties in partnership with Kinetic to bring fiber to those communities.