- Kinetic by Winddstream, Colquitt EMC, and Lowndes County are partnering to bring fiber internet to 16,000 homes.
- The project costs $39 million.
- Watch the video to hear how this will impact county education and industry.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
Over 1.6 million Georgians live without high speed internet. Lowndes County is working to put a dent in that number.
I’m Malia Thomas, your neighborhood reporter in Valdosta, and I’m looking into how this will improve our neighborhoods.
This is Michael Foor.
Working in Kinetic's operations and living in rural Georgia, he's seen the need for faster internet in Lowndes County firsthand.
"We are one of the largest rural providers in Georgia; that's our footprint that's what we do, and that's why i love my job; because we get to make a difference in the rural economies of Georgia."
He tells me that construction has already started, and they plan on bringing internet to neighbors in phases. He explains its...
"kinda like building a railroad track. So we won't be able to turn them all up at once. It'll be progressive as it will work probably over the next. 12 plus months, you know potentially to get all 16,000 of those homes as we pass them as they get qualified."
Kinetic is partnering with Lowndes County and Colquitt EMC. Together, they're combining funds of over $39 million to get 16,000 neighbors fiber internet.
"We have issues that we're we have children that has to do online learning and those sort of things."
County Chairman Bill Slaughter is especially proud as he's been trying to get this off the ground for over a decade.
"It's going to bring healthcare to a higher level of people that that are homebound possibly is going to help them be able to get online. Medicine and and care taking care of for them."
I checked the pricing for Kinetic's internet. It's $39.99 for 1 gig for 32 months, then afterwards its $69.99. 2 gigs is $99.99 per month.
Compare that to other local providers like Mediacomm, which offers similar pricing for 1 gig at $69.99.
The main difference is location: as these locations are without high-speed internet, Kinetic will give neighbors an option, something they've never had before.
Lowndes County hopes to complete this broadband project by 2026. In Valdosta, I’m Malia Thomas, ABC27.
