Wireless Connectivity

Windstream (News - Alert), a provider of IP-based voice and data services, MPLS networking, data center and managed broadband solutions and communication systems to businesses and government agencies, announced it started laying fiber optic cable near Prentiss, Miss.

The laying of fiber optic cable is part of its first broadband stimulus project. A federal grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is funding a part of the project.

The stimulus grants are expected to offer broadband solutions to underserved communities where the population is low. It is expected that the stimulus project would offer high-speed Internet service to them without a public-private partnership. Broadband access gives users a powerful tool for education, commerce and entertainment.

“This is an exciting day for Windstream and our customers in the Prentiss area,” said Terry Mathis, local manager for Windstream, in a statement. “Windstream had already built out our broadband network to every area that we could serve in a cost-effective way, and now for the first time we will be able to reach customers in some of the most rural parts of our community.”

Windstream was the largest single recipient of broadband stimulus grants awarded on a competitive basis by the U.S. Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service.

The company won grants $181.3 million for broadband projects in 13 states, including Mississippi. The grants from the government will cover 75 percent of the cost of installing broadband. Windstream will invest the remaining 25 percent, a total of $60.4 million.

Windstream will invest $138,733 in Prentiss and the grant totals $416,322. As part of the Prentiss project, Windstream will upgrade existing network with more than 7 miles of fiber optic cable as well as electronic equipment. It will reach 170 potential customers southeast of Prentiss along Highway 42, giving them access to the Internet at speeds of at least 6 Mbps.

Construction is expected to be completed in July, and the new broadband service should be available to Windstream customers in August.

In February Windstream announced its fourth-quarter and full-year 2010 earnings results, highlighted by higher business service revenue and improved operating margins. The company reported an operating income of $259 million, an increase of 10 percent year-over-year. Net income was $72 million, a 4 percent decrease from a year ago, or 15 cents of diluted earnings per share.