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Construction Concludes for Fiber Internet Pilot-Project in Beaver CountyFiber-broadband provider Kinetic joined state and local officials at a local ribbon cutting at the Beaver County Courthouse today to announce a new, state-of-the-art fiber network that will provide ultrafast internet to 250 customer locations in the county. More than 1,220 homes, businesses and schools in Beaver County now have access to Kinetic fiber, local officials and Kinetic representatives said. The newly added wide-bandwidth fiber internet communities benefiting from the pilot project are in northwestern Beaver County (Darlington and South Beaver townships, and Big Beaver Borough). Additional beneficiaries of this fiber build include Blackhawk and Big Beaver Falls School Districts in Beaver County. As a result of Kinetic's partnership with the county on an early action project in northwestern Beaver County, Kinetic extended its fiber network by more than 20 miles. Funded by a mixture of public-private partnerships and the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program, Kinetic lauded working with City, County and State officials as they create more fiber internet opportunities to Beaver County households, businesses, and school districts. Kinetic more than doubled its fiber presence in Pennsylvania over the last 10 years, bringing total placed fiber optic cable in the commonwealth to 8,090 miles. Kinetic's Beaver County fiber project is part of a $2 billion multiyear capital investment strategy to dramatically expand gigabit fiber service across the company's 18-state footprint. "Because of the commendable decision made by Beaver County leadership initiating this program, 62 percent of the customer locations in Kinetic's territory within the county now have access to fiber," said Jeanne Shearer, vice president of state government affairs for Kinetic. "Additionally, in Kinetic's commitment to Beaver County, fiber construction for several projects committed through the Federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program were completed almost five years ahead of scedule." "I grew up in a small, rural Pennsylvania town, just like those Kinetic serves here in Beaver County. Kinetic is a local company employing local people to deliver the best internet experience, even when houses are separated by fields and connected by dirt roads," she said. "Kinetic understands everyone deserves exceptional internet. Its track record of investing in rural communities across this Commonwealth and seeking partnerships to expand its reach demonstrates this." Kinetic is on a mission to be relentlessly focused on providing quality service to underserved parts of rural America to bridge the digital divide. "I applaud the collaboration between Beaver County and Kinetic, for their long-term partnership on this broadband enhancement," said State Representative Jim Marshall (R-Beaver). "It is essential that our rural residents have access to dependable, high-speed internet connectivity and I am grateful for this project, which will directly impact to 250 locations in Beaver County." No one needs to wait to sign up for the service. Households and businesses may sign up now for those in Kinetic service areas. Customers are invited to visit GoKinetic.com to find out if they are eligible for a fiber broadband speed upgrade. Kinetic's ultrafast fiber-optic broadband lets users download and upload, equally in both directions, at up to 1 gigabit a second, or 1,000 megabits a second, providing what is known as "next-generation access." The median download speed in Pennsylvania is about 191 megabits a second, and the median upload speed is about 24 megabits a second, Ookla's Speed test indicates. Ookla, a division of technology and media company Ziff Davis, compares internet data speeds across the country. "This enhancement to our telecommunications infrastructure is a tremendous asset to our residents, our businesses and to the entire county," said Lance Grable, director of the Beaver County Office of Planning and Redevelopment. "It's 2024, and a dependable and rapid internet service is essential to increasing quality of life. We are grateful to Kinetic for its dedication to investing in our community's growth and prosperity." To learn more, visit GoKinetic.com. About Kinetic: Kinetic, a Windstream company, offers fiber-based broadband to residential and small business customers in 18 states. The company's quality-first approach connects customers to new opportunities and possibilities by delivering a full suite of advanced communications services. Kinetic is one of three brands managed by Windstream. The company also offers managed cloud communications and security services to mid-to-large enterprises and government entities across the U.S. as well as customized wavelength and dark fiber solutions to carriers, content providers and hyperscalers in the U.S. and Canada. Windstream is a privately held company headquartered in Little Rock, Ark. Additional information about Kinetic is available at GoKinetic.com or windstream.com. Category: Kinetic
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