FULTON, NY — Kinetic by Windstream held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the CNY Arts Center in Fulton on Tuesday; the fiber optic internet company celebrating the emergence of their high speed internet presence throughout Oswego County.
More than 1,700 homes, businesses and schools in Fulton and nearby parts of southern Oswego County are now, for the first time, eligible for high-speed fiber internet, state and local officials and fiber-broadband provider Kinetic said during Tuesday’s event.
The project increases Kinetic’s presence in the area by more than 40%. Some 4,100 households in Fulton, Central Square and Phoenix already have access to Kinetic’s ultrafast broadband.
Kinetic New York Operations President Susan Schraibman was the first speaker at the event, extolling Kinetic’s outreach in providing internet options to those unable to receive it in rural areas.
“You know, the past few years, it’s taught us – especially with COVID – the importance of being able to be connected. And Kinetic is very committed to that. We’re investing 2 billion in our fiber network to make broadband services accessible to communities that we serve,” Schraibmand said. “The other commitment that we’re making is that we are future-proofing it. So, we offer a gig – well, we’re now going to be able to offer eight-gig service. Who needs eight gig, you know? But there’s so many things that are being connected to the internet now that we are making sure that our services are going to be here for the future.”
Operation Oswego County Executive Director Austin Wheelock said he applauded Kinetic for investing to provide high-speed internet fiber for unserved and underserved communities and Oswego County.
Kinetic’s investment helps close a gap between residents and businesses with broadband access and those without it, Wheelock said Tuesday at the announcement about the new service at Fulton’s CNA Community Arts Center.
“Closing this gap — this ‘digital divide’ — is helping eliminate barriers to opportunity and ensure that everyone in Oswego County benefits from equal access to the highest-quality broadband access,” Wheelock said.
Kinetic laid nearly 40 miles of optical fiber cable to bring high-speed broadband to the more than 1,700 customers in Fulton, Central Square, Phoenix, Oswego and West Monroe.
“High speed internet has become such a critical necessity for our everyday lives, yet this connectivity and the infrastructure behind it have remained inaccessible for many, for too long,” Greater Oswego–Fulton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sara Broadwell said. “Broadband is integral to economic growth, job creation, global competitiveness and a better way of life. This expanded high-speed fiber internet infrastructure and eligibility is welcome news for Fulton and other communities in western Oswego County.”
Fulton Mayor Deanna Michaels spoke about the reach Kinetic’s presence will have not only in Fulton, but surrounding communities as well.
“I hear about households but I also think about businesses; I think about organizations like CNY Arts where we’re here today. I think about our downtown. I think about us being a DRI community and our infrastructure around that DRI award, and the broadband project that we’re working on as well as the county’s working on – to make sure that we stay connected both as a community [and] a county” Micheals said. “But that also expands our reach beyond just our city borders. It expands our reach to other communities. When we invest in ourselves, others look to us and say, we want to invest in that community as well.”
Kinetic’s ultrafast fiber-optic broadband lets users download and download, equally in both directions, at speeds of 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 New York is about 216 megabits a second, and the median upload speed is about 26 megabits a second, Ookla’s Speedtest indicates. Ookla compares internet data speed across the country.
“We’re thrilled to bring our fastest speeds and our best internet experience to more homes and businesses here in Fulton and Oswego County,” Schraibman said. “The energy and momentum we have in the marketplace are unmistakable, and we’re proud we’re able to bring our ultrafast fiber connectivity to more customers and the community every single day,” she said. “When we say, ‘High Speed for Here,’ we mean Fulton and greater Oswego County.”
The Oswego County fiber project is part of a $2 billion multiyear capital investment strategy to dramatically expand gigabit internet service across Kinetic’s 18-state footprint.
Residents and businesses can learn more about Kinetic fiber and sign up for service at GoKinetic.com.
The superfast, reliable fiber connections in Oswego County empower residential customers to gig speeds to navigate the internet safely from home with no lag times while they work, participate in virtual classrooms or stream entertainment services. Businesses from small to enterprise can take advantage of the fiber-backed network to deploy solutions that make their companies more efficient and profitable such as OfficeSuite UC®and SD-WAN.
To learn more, visit GoKinetic.com.
About Kinetic
Kinetic by Windstream is a business unit of Windstream Holdings, a privately held communications and software company. Kinetic provides premium broadband, entertainment and security services through an enhanced fiber network to consumers and businesses primarily in rural areas in 18 states. The company also offers managed communications services, including SD-WAN and UCaaS, and high-capacity bandwidth and transport services to businesses across the U.S. Additional information is available at GoKinetic.com. Follow us on Twitter at @GoKineticHome.
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