Jay Paul, chairman of the Board of Commissioners, said he returned home from work one day to find the post of his mailbox a foot and a half shorter after Kinetic subcontractors came through the area.
“I went to the hardware store, bought $70 worth of supplies and went and fixed it myself,” Paul said. “My personal experience with (the subcontractors) is not satisfactory.”
Kinetic, formerly known as Windstream, is one of the county’s broadband service providers, serving almost 2,000 Oglethorpe County residents. Subcontractors for the company caused property damage in June and July while laying fiber optic wire.
“I classify this as one of the largest manmade headaches we’ve experienced in Oglethorpe County since I’ve been in office,” Paul said.
Damage included cut phone and water lines, road and yard damage, and a natural gas leak near downtown Crawford in June.
Kinetic construction is ongoing in the county, but Paul said the results have been better the past few weeks.
“Kinetic has terminated the previous subcontractor and has contracted a new team, which we are seeing positive progress throughout the areas with,” said Victoria Carman, a marketing and communications specialist for Kinetic, in an email.
No new complaints have been received from residents, Paul said, so he said he believes they are satisfied with the new construction team.
Carman said Kinetic is in contact with government officials regarding the financial impact of the damage, but county residents have not seen any compensation yet.
Continuing the growth
Broadband service is continuing to expand in Oglethorpe County, despite these interruptions.
About 61% of areas in Oglethorpe County are considered fully served by broadband as of June 2025, according to the Federal Communications Commission broadband data collection. This is up 9% from 2020, when 52% of the county was served.
About 94% of Georgia has access to broadband services.
The expansion of broadband services is included in the Oglethorpe County Comprehensive Plan, which looks ahead at the growth the county will undergo over the next 20 years. It prioritizes the equitable deployment of broadband in order to serve the community’s interests.
Carman said Kinetic has plans to add additional fiber internet in the county throughout the next year.
“Everybody should be happy,” Paul said. “They got their internet now, so I hope they’re happy.”
Funding the expansion
Oglethorpe County was designated as the first Broadband Ready Community in Georgia in 2019.
After terminating an agreement with Paladin Wireless in 2022 due to repeatedly missing deadlines and subscriber goals, Oglethorpe County turned to internet service providers Kinetic and Charter Spectrum.
Grants making broadband expansion possible include the American Rescue Plan Act Capital Project Fund, the American Rescue Plan Act Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and the Federal Communications Commission Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, according to the 2025 Georgia Broadband Availability Map.
The county has also been involved in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program and is looking to secure more funding through it. The Georgia Technology Authority determines how to distribute these federal funds across the state.
This state and federal funding is dedicated to increasing access to broadband and taking some of the financial strain off of local governments.
“We sent some emails to the Georgia Technology Authority and told them that we still had immediate need and we’d be happy to receive any funding possible,” said Will Brown, District 4 commissioner and chairman of the Economic Development Authority.