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Grayson, Ky., Celebrates Launch of Gig-Speed Internet Service

Roughly 1,400 homes and businesses are now equipped with high-speed fiber Internet, through a public-private partnership between the city of Grayson and Internet service provider Kinetic.

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(TNS) — A ribbon cutting commemorated the completion of a project designed to bring fiber Internet to the city of Grayson on Wednesday.

Roughly 1,400 homes and businesses are now equipped with high-speed fiber Internet, made possible by a public/private partnership between the city of Grayson and Kinetic.

The completion of the project made Grayson the newest "Gig City," sharing that distinction with much larger Kentucky cities such as Louisville and Lexington.

"This is something that has been needed in this city for years," Grayson Mayor George Steele said during the ceremony at Grayson City Park. "I'm very proud the council decided to do this when other governments were saying no."

Steele said he credits the city council's "can do" attitude with all of the improvements Grayson has been able to make, but said that the fiber Internet project is one that he is most proud of during his tenure as mayor.

The fiber Internet, he said, will be crucial in attracting new businesses to the city as well as improve access to health care and educational resources.

Grayson City Council member Troy Combs said the project was the result of a lot of hard work on the part of a bunch of different individuals. What began as an inquiry as to the cost of bringing fiber Internet to Grayson eventually resulted in Wednesday's ceremony, he said.

Kinetic invested $550,000 and the city of Grayson invested $250,000 of its ARPA funds to bring the gigabit broadband to Grayson. Gigabit broadband allows users to download 1,000 megabits per second, which is 100 times faster than the average Internet speed in the U.S., according to Kinetic. The company said it has or will have fiber Internet in every county it serves in Kentucky over the next couple of years.

"I want to thank Windstream team along with the city of Grayson and their innovative approach to public service," State Sen. Robin Webb said at the event. Webb said the new fiber Internet will play a crucial part in not only economic development but in public health and safety as well.

She praised the hard-working "team on the ground" who worked diligently to overcome challenges such as weather events, topography and infrastructure to bring the project to completion months ahead of schedule.

State Rep. Patrick Flannery said when he was out at the gas station or the grocery store, the one topic people have most often mentioned to him was high-speed Internet.

"The future is high-speed Internet," Flannery said after praising both Windstream and the city of Grayson. "We have a lot of people moving into our communities, and a lot of those people will be working from their homes. So, this 21st Century infrastructure affects everything we care about from our schools to our health care. So, this is a good day, and thank you for making this happen."

©2022 The Daily Independent, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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