Kinetic by Windstream has begun work on a $20.5 million project to expand a fiber network to more than 7,300 locations in rural Union County, located in the northern part of Georgia near the North Carolina state line.

The Little Rock-based provider, which is a business unit of Windstream Holdings, made the announcement after breaking ground on the expansion project with local officials Dec. 11, the company’s Dec. 12 release stated.

Kinetic by Windstream, also known as Kinetic, said the new network build in Union County will be “in addition to some 8,400 county locations Kinetic already made ‘gig ready.’”

In total, when their latest project is completed, Kinetic said 17,500 locations across Union County would be eligible for Kinetic’s fiber broadband services.

“The people in Blairsville, Suches and other communities will soon no longer be underserved and unserved,” Kinetic Georgia operations President Michael Foor said at Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony, according to Kinetic’s release.

According to Kinetic, the Union County project is the result of a public/private partnership involving Kinetic and Union County.

To finance the project, Union County will use over $11 million in grant funds from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program, part of the federal American Rescue Plan, according to Kinetic.

“The county has also committed an additional $500,000 in matching funds,” the company’s announcement stated. “Kinetic will invest $8.9 million and cover any cost overruns. The broadband provider covered the entire project cost when making the earlier 8,400 locations gig ready.”

Kinetic said their Union County fiber project is part of a $2 billion multiyear capital investment strategy by the company “to dramatically expand gigabit fiber service across the company’s 18-state footprint.”

Georgia Broadband Program Executive Director Jessica Simmons applauded the expansion project, which will see Kinetic lay 550 miles of fiber optic cable in the county, the company said. Her comments were included in Kinetic’s announcement.

“This groundbreaking signifies the start of new possibilities for Union County,” she said. “Technology is ever evolving, and this project will bring broadband that can handle present and future demands to this community. I’m glad the county was able to collaborate with Kinetic to expand this critical service to more than 7,300 unserved homes and businesses.”