$20.4 Million Fiber-Broadband Project to Benefit 8,200 in Lumpkin County

Some 8,200 homes, businesses and schools in unserved and underserved parts of Lumpkin County (GA) will, for the first time, be eligible for high-speed fiber internet. The $20.4 million project, to provide fiber broadband to Dahlonega and throughout the county, is expected to be completed in 2024. It is a result of a public–private partnership between the county and Kinetic. The county will use about $6.9 million in state grant money from the federal government. The money comes from the US Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Development Opportunity Fund (RDOF), and the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program, part of the federal American Rescue Plan Act's (ARPA) COVID-19 stimulus package. Kinetic will invest $13.5 million and cover any cost overruns. The combined venture will enable Kinetic to lay more than 450 miles of optical fiber cable to bring high-speed internet to residences, businesses and schools. Kinetic’s Lumpkin County fiber project is part of a $2 billion multiyear capital investment strategy by Kinetic to dramatically expand gigabit fiber service across the company’s 18-state footprint.