- $250,000 to upgrade town’s damaged infrastructure with buried
fiber
- Buried fiber provides better weather resilience, 99.9%
reliability
- Kinetic’s commitment was made at no cost to customers in
eligible service areas
- 28,500 new feet of fiber will join Kinetic’s 12,419 Iowa-based
fiber miles
Due to the extensive damage done by a May 21, 2024, tornado
across Adair County, there’s a long road ahead to make this
community whole again, which is why Kinetic is investing $250,000
to replace destroyed communications infrastructure with a buried
fiber optic solution.
This effort will bring more than 28,500 feet (about 5.4 miles)
of new fiber to more than 320 Greenfield locations. There is no
cost to the state, the county, Greenfield or Kinetic customers.
This investment will add to the already existing 10,600 feet
(about 2 miles) of Kinetic fiber optic cable in the area. Kinetic's
Iowa-based fiber network, about 12,400 miles, is 16 times larger
than the total length of Iowa's 782 miles of federal
interstates.
“Kinetic’s generous investment to replace and upgrade
Greenfield’s fiber infrastructure not only helps this community
rebuild, it also intends to fast-track construction, restoring
service and providing a sense of normalcy as soon as possible while
recovery efforts continue,” said Governor Kim Reynolds. “I’m
grateful to Kinetic for prioritizing this project and making a
difference for the people of Greenfield.”
In the aftermath of severe storms, Kinetic prioritizes rapid
internet restoration, leveraging a vast network of over 489,000
miles of cable and the dedication of more than 3,000 technicians
across 18 states. This approach ensures that communities don’t need
to wait weeks for essential services. Despite challenges in placing
fiber everywhere due to cost and time, Kinetic always looks at
options to expand its high-speed fiber internet. Various other
projects across the nation are underway to upgrade underserved
areas to fiber, enhancing access to essential services and
fostering local economic growth.
A Symbol of Rapid Response and Recovery
In the hours following the tornado, Kinetic assembled a disaster
response team of engineers, communicators, customer service
representatives, field employees and technicians to work with local
authorities and utility companies to assess and evaluate damages
while also developing solutions to withstand nature's toughest
encounters in the future.
An engineering process of this magnitude typically takes
multiple months, but Kinetic routed an engineering plan for
approval in just days, according to Rich Murtha, Kinetic’s senior
vice president of Outside Plant Engineering & Construction and
a former U.S. Marine with experience working as a FEMA disaster
specialist. The team’s engineering plan was approved by the city in
about two weeks.
A formal ceremony will be planned in the future and will include
local officials, but engineers are not waiting on the formalities
while work started in late June. As recovery and clean-up
concludes, construction of the 28,500 feet of fiber has an expected
completion as soon as August. Once the fiber optic broadband
service launches, customers will experience symmetrical download
and upload speeds along with enhanced security benefits.
“I am thrilled to see Kinetic's commitment to investing $250,000
to upgrade our hometown’s damaged infrastructure with fiber. The
decision to bury fiber optic cables will not only provide better
weather resilience, but also ensure 99.9% reliability and blazing
fast speeds for our residents,” said State Rep. Ray Sorensen
(Iowa-R). “With the addition of 28,500 new feet of fiber in
Greenfield, this investment will undoubtedly have a positive impact
on our town’s economy, bringing reliable and high-speed internet to
our residents and businesses."
Build Back Better - A Kinetic Commitment
After assessing the destruction of the town’s communications
infrastructure, the team quickly identified the need to transition
to a more sustainable, buried fiber optic network.
“In the tornado’s aftermath, it’s not just about rebuilding.
It’s about reimagining a stronger, safer, and more sustainable
community,” said Brad Hedrick, Kinetic’s Midwest regional
president. “Our private investment in this community demonstrates
we are a partner investing in the long-term spirit of this
community, its people, and its future opportunity to be a gigabit
community. I want to convey to every single resident of Greenfield,
we’re with you. We’ve been with you since before the storm, and
we’ll continue to be here as we rebuild together. I hope that by
burying fiber, it shows our dedication to not only restore but
significantly improve the quality of life and economic prosperity
of the area.”
Buried cables in some communities are inherently better
protected against the elements than other technologies, reducing
the opportunity for loss of service, even in the face of future
storms or natural disasters. Kinetic will use its “resi-plow”
technology to increase efficiency, speed and quality of
installation while minimizing impacts on the environment, the city,
and local property. The company has invested $2 million in the
technology, which also enables faster repairs and reduces downtime
if the fiber is damaged.
“We’re already making progress on rebuilding the destroyed
infrastructure with the highest multi-gigabit fiber available,”
Murtha said. “In the hours after the storm, we had technicians
on-site helping to make repairs and place temporary solutions to
connect customers to the world. And I’m happy to say that working
with the city, and other officials, within two weeks, we’ve
initiated and received approval for our plans, and now are within
sight of our permits to begin fiber burial.”
A New Chapter for Kinetic and Greenfield
With this upgrade, more Greenfield residents will be eligible
for faster internet speeds. Fiber is more reliable than other
technologies, experiences fewer outages, and doesn't slow down when
more people use it in the same way cable or fixed wireless does.
It’s also not dependent on weather conditions, like satellite
internet.
“I’m incredibly proud of our leads who made this happen, Haley
Sandberg and Wes Dorset. They took this matter personally. They’ve
been the vital component to Greenfield’s broadband reconstruction
plan,” said Anthony Webster, Kinetic engineering senior director.
“In a natural disaster, utility providers in general rise to a
higher level when residents’ livelihood depends on us. We’re
honored to be playing a small part in this community’s new
chapter.”
“Our hearts go out to the residents of Greenfield as they
navigate the road to recovery that they have ahead of them,” said
Barry Bishop, Kinetic’s senior vice president for Field Operations.
“Our commitment starts right here, with providing one of the
nation’s fastest and most affordable broadband solutions to our
communities when they need it most. I hope our customers have seen
that this is a new Kinetic; we’re a local provider with employees
in the community. We were there before the storm, we were there
cleaning up after the storm, and we’ll be there for the long
haul.”
Aerial vs Buried Cable
Replacing infrastructure immediately after a storm all comes
down to time and access. Fiber takes time to place underground, and
it is expensive. So, while technicians work to restore service
rapidly and safely, there’s a constant balancing act to get
essential service up and running.
“As you can imagine, these families and communities have been
traumatized,” said Murtha. “The last thing these folks need is to
wait for permits or supplies to be readily available. So, through
our staging supply chains around the country, we rapidly responded
to Mother Nature. During this whole process, the city and local
authorities have been great to work with.”
Customers experiencing outages are encouraged to report them via
the GoKinetic app.
###
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
www.gokinetic.com or windstream.com.
Category: Kinetic
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240628758708/en/
David Faggard Victoria Carman Tish Kemp