Just one week after announcing the commencement of work on a broadband stimulus project in Iowa, Windstream today announced it has started work on another stimulus project in Kentucky. Perhaps the company is finally getting into high gear on stimulus project construction.
Windstream was the largest single winner of broadband stimulus funding from the Rural Utilities Service, winning grants totaling $181.3 million for projects in 13 states. But to date the company has only announced construction starts for a handful of projects—and several of the announced starts were only for a small portion of an award area.
The construction start announced today is a bit larger than some of the projects announced so far. The project, which will upgrade Windstream’s network in the Shepherdsville area, will make high-speed Internet available to about 2,000 people. (In comparison, the company’s first Iowa project targets just 30 customers.) But once again the new announcement represents only a portion of Windstream’s winnings for the state. The company won a total of $59.7 million for projects in Kentucky.
You have to give Windstream credit for one thing, though. It has been setting fairly aggressive time tables for its stimulus construction projects, some as short as just one month. The Shepherdsville project is expected to be completed in March 2012—a bit longer time frame than some of Windstream’s projects have targeted, but still making it a relatively short-duration project.
A typical Windstream stimulus project involves high-speed DSL and is funded 75% through the RUS grant, with Windstream paying the other 25%.
Windstream’s previously announced stimulus starts include networks in Mississippi and Georgia, in addition to the Kentucky and Iowa projects.
Where can I get details on these projects in KY? I have Windstream primitive phone service, and have been waiting for a year for broadband.