Kinetic (brand) explained

Kinetic
Producttype:
Currentowner:Windstream Holdings
Origin:United States

Kinetic is the brand name of a suite of telecommunications products and services for residential and business customers which includes fiber broadband internet access, local and long distance telephone service, digital subscriber line transmission, unified communications, internet protocol television, and home security systems. Kinetic is one of three divisions operated by Windstream Holdings, a privately held Fortune 1000 communications and software company. The other units are Windstream Enterprise and Windstream Wholesale.[1] Kinetic wordmark and service mark are registered by Windstream Intellectual Property Services, LLC.

History

The Kinetic brand was first introduced in October 2014 by Windstream to market a new TV entertainment service delivered through the IPTV platform Ericsson Mediaroom that leveraged the company's fiber-backed network.[2] Kinetic TV was first made available to 50,000 homes in the Lincoln, NE area.[3] Kinetic was considered a next-generation TV entertainment service upon the brand's inauguration.[4]

Kinetic Portfolio Expansion

In September 2017, three years after launching Kinetic TV service, the brand was extended across a broader product and service portfolio aimed at consumer and small business markets in 18 states.[5] The new Kinetic brand rolled out to offer Kinetic Internet, a high speed internet product with bandwidth suitable for streaming video; Kinetic Gig, with speeds of 1Gbps delivered over a 100 percent fiber-optic network; Kinetic TV, the TV service previously launched; and Kinetic Business Solutions, a suite of customizable solutions targeting businesses.[6] [7]

New Kinetic Regional Headquarters

In May, 2022 Kinetic broke ground on its new regional headquarters located in the University of Kentucky's Coldstream Research Campus in Lexington, Ky. The 30,000-square-foot, energy efficient building was built by the Denham-Blythe Company, a design-build construction group also located in Lexington.[8]

The new headquarters ribbon-cutting ceremony was hosted on June 29, 2023 and was attended by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton. The regional headquarters would serve as a center for leadership and technicians training on active network elements, advanced fiber optic systems, expected to employ a total of 90 individuals.[9]

Kinetic Internet

The Company's network growth trajectory leveraged public-private partnerships (PPPs), including the FCC's Connect America Fund (CAF) II program. CAF II subsidized telecommunications services in rural and remote areas and was a constituent program of the Universal Service Fund which helped operationalize the goals outlined in the National Broadband Plan (United States).[10] [11] Accepting $175 million in funding per year through the seven-year program to help it expand broadband services, the Kinetic Internet expansion helped the company bring a minimum of 10/1 Mbps speeds to over 400,000 rural homes across 17 states. [12] [13]

In early 2021 the Company submitted its application to receive $523 million over 10 years in the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction to bring fiber-to-the-home internet services to almost 200,000 locations in 18 states and received authorizations by March 2022.[14] [15]

Other PPP projects included fiber broadband expansions in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, New Mexico and Pennsylvania with partners ranging from federal, state, county and municipal agencies.[16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

Kinetic Internet Subscriber Growth

From its launch in 2017, Kinetic Internet added 378,000 subscribers, and at the end of Q4 2023 reported that 1.6 million total premises had access to Kinetic Fiber internet service.[21]

Year Subscribers Added
2018 14,400[22]
2019 28,800[23]
2020 60,000[24]
2021 55,000[25]
2022 125,000[26]
2023 96,000[27]
Total added 378,400

Kinetic TV

In late 2018 Kinetic TV began internal user testing of an app-based streaming television product, and by February 2019 became the latest pay TV operator to begin the shift away from a managed video network to an app-based streaming TV experience.[28] The company's app-based Kinetic TV service would be powered by the MobiTV CONNECT™ Platform, marking the transition to an extendable, IP-based approach running on popular consumer devices.[29]

OfficeSuite UC

Windstream obtained the OfficeSuite UC brand cloud-based Unified communications (UCaaS) platform through the acquisition of Broadview Networks.[30] The acquisition advanced the company's unified communications product portfolio and helped improve competitiveness to serve SMB customers.[31] [32]

In October 2019, Windstream announced it would be extending OfficeSuite UC to Kinetic Business small and midsized business customers.[33] Prior to this, the suite was earmarked for larger enterprise customers.[34]

Further refining the product's feature set designed for small businesses, Kinetic Business launched OfficeSuite Express in early 2022, as a pared down solution for 10 or fewer desktop phones in one location.[35]

Kinetic Business

Kinetic Business is a business unit organized under the Kinetic brand division within Windstream to provide business network solutions for small businesses including business internet service, business phone lines, collaboration tools, and cybersecurity in 23 US states.[36]

Go Kinetic Business App

In May, 2022 Kinetic Business launched the Go Kinetic Business app, allowing business customers to view and manage their products and services from any device.[37]

PGA Tour Barbasol Championship Partnership

In 2019 Kinetic Business partnered with the PGA Tour Barbasol Championship, held at Champions at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Ky. to showcase its expanded Kinetic Gig Internet service at the event. Spectators accessed a 10-gigabit network connection wirelessly on their handheld devices.[38]

Kinetic Business continued to serve as the official fiber internet, streaming and technology solutions partner for the Barbasol Championship from 2019 to 2023.[39] For 2024, the event was rebranded to the Kentucky Championship.[40] [41]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Corporate Profile . Windstream Holdings - Investor Relations . Windstream . April 2, 2024.
  2. News: . October 6, 2014 . Windstream to Roll Out TV Service Called 'Kinetic' . . Arkansas Business . March 16, 2024.
  3. Web site: Baumgartner . Jeff . October 6, 2014 . Windstream Gets Moving on ‘Kinetic’ TV . . . March 19, 2024.
  4. Morris . Scott . October 2, 2014 . Windstream Announces Next-Generation TV Entertainment Service, "Kinetic" . Little Rock, AR . . March 20, 2024.
  5. News: Avery . David . Windstream to Use Kinetic Brand to Promote Premium Services . 21 March 2024 . Channel Futures . Informa PLC Informa UK Limited . September 13, 2017.
  6. News: Arnason . Bernie . Windstream Rebrand Introduces Kinetic Across Consumer & SMB Product Portfolio . 21 March 2024 . Telecompetitor . Pivot Group . September 12, 2017.
  7. Avery. David . September 12, 2017. Windstream expands Kinetic brand across its local footprint. Little Rock, Ark.. Windstream. March 26, 2024.
  8. Case. Kerri . May 23, 2022 . Kinetic Breaks Ground on New Kentucky Headquarters. Lexington, Ky.. Kinetic by Windstream. Business Wire. April 12, 2024.
  9. Web site: Castorena . Ashley . Kinetic by Windstream celebrates ribbon cutting at Coldstream Research Campus . U Know University of Kentucky . University of Kentucky . 12 April 2024.
  10. Web site: Universal Service for High Cost Areas - Connect America Fund . fcc.gov . Federal Communications Commission.
  11. Web site: Connect America Fund, A National Broadband Plan for Our Future, High-Cost Universal Service Support . fcc.gov . Federal Communications Commission.
  12. Morris . Scott . February 1, 2021 . Windstream to Expand Gigabit Broadband Service With FCC Support . Little Rock, Ark. . Windstream Holdings . 12 April 2024.
  13. News: Engebretson . Joan . CFO: Windstream CAF Impact Could be $40 Million Annually . 12 April 2024 . Telecompetitor . Pivot Group . September 11, 2015.
  14. Morris. Scott. February 1, 2021. Windstream to Expand Gigabit Broadband Service With FCC Support. Little Rock, Ark.. Windstream Holdings. Business Wire. April 12, 2024.
  15. News: Arnason . Bernie . Windstream: $523 Million in RDOF Authorizations Propel PPP Strategy . 12 April 2024 . Telecompetitor . Pivot Group . March 21, 2022.
  16. News: White . Tyre . NTIA grant brings fiber internet to Sabine County . 12 April 2024 . KTRE 9 ABC . Gray Media Group . November 20, 2023.
  17. Web site: Broadband Grantees . New Mexico Department Of Information Technolgoy . NewMexico.gov . 12 April 2024.
  18. News: Brawner . Steve . Windstream beginning seven rural broadband projects using public-private partnerships . 12 April 2024 . TB&P . Talk Business & Politics . September 8, 2021.
  19. Web site: Bode . Karl . Windstream and Colquitt Electric Cooperative Partner On $33 Million Georgia Fiber Deployment . Community Networks . Institute for Local Self-Reliance . 12 April 2024.
  20. News: Weinschenk . Carl . Windstream Pennsylvania Gigabit Project Funded, in Part, Through CARES Act . 12 April 2024 . Telecompetitor . Pivot Group . April 13, 2021.
  21. Web site: Company Overview . Windstream . Windstream . April 2, 2024.
  22. March 15, 2019 . Windstream reports fourth-quarter, full-year 2018 results . Windstream Holdings, Inc. . April 2, 2024 . GlobeNewswire.
  23. February 20, 2020 . Avery . David . Windstream Reports Fourth-Quarter, Full-Year 2019 Results . Windstream Holdings, Inc . April 2, 2024 . Business Wire.
  24. January 13, 2021 . Kinetic by Windstream Ends 2020 with 60,000 More Broadband Customers and Expanded Gigabit Network . Windstream Holdings . Business Wire . April 2, 2024.
  25. January 19, 2022 . Kinetic Adds 55,000 Broadband Customers as its Fiber Expansion Continues . Windstream Holdings . Business Wire . April 2, 2024.
  26. Web site: Company Overview - 2023 Financial Snapshot . Windstream Wholesale . Windstream Holdings . April 2, 2024.
  27. Web site: Company Overview - 2023 Financial Snapshot . Windstream Wholesale . Windstream Holdings . April 2, 2024.
  28. News: Munson . Ben . Windstream taps MobiTV to launch new TV streaming product Kinetic TV . March 27, 2024 . StreamTV Insider . Questex . Feb 6, 2019.
  29. Morris. Scott. February 6, 2019. Windstream and MOBITV partner to launch robust app-based Kinetic TV. Little Rock, Ark.. Windstream. March 27, 2024.
  30. News: Buckley . Sean . Windstream acquires Broadview Networks for $228M, bolsters UC capabilities for small, medium businesses . 21 March 2024 . Fierce Telecom . Questex LLC . April 13, 2017.
  31. Windstream to acquire Broadview Networks . 21 March 2024 . GlobeNewswire . GlobeNewswire . Windstream . April 13, 2017.
  32. News: Carter . Rebekah . Who Made the UCaaS Magic Quadrant for 2019? . UC Today . Today Digital Ltd . April 1, 2024.
  33. Morris . Scott . Kinetic Business by Windstream Launches OfficeSuite UC® to Small and Midsize Business Customers . Windstream Holdings - Investor Relations . Windstream Holdings . October 23, 2019 . April 1, 2024.
  34. Morris. Scott. October 23, 2019. Kinetic Business by Windstream Launches OfficeSuite UC® to Small and Midsize Business Customers. LITTLE ROCK, Ark.. Windstream. April 1, 2024.
  35. News: Adrien. Claudia . February 22, 2022. Windstream's Kinetic Business Pursues Small Businesses with OfficeSuite Express. Channel Futures. April 1, 2024.
  36. Web site: Business Internet, Voice & Security . Kinetic Business . Kinetic by Windstream . 12 April 2024.
  37. Case. Kerri . May 25, 2022. Kinetic Business Launches New Go Kinetic Business Customer Portal. Little Rock, Ark.. Windstream Holdings. April 13, 2024.
  38. Morris. Scott . July 18, 2019 . Kinetic Business by Windstream partners with PGA TOUR Barbasol Championship. Lexington, Ky. Windstream Holdings, Inc.. Business Wire. April 13, 2024.
  39. Krtek . Megan . June 26, 2023 . Kinetic Business Partners with PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship for Fourth Year. Lexington, Ky. Kinetic Business. Business Wire. April 13, 2024.
  40. News: Hunsinger . Anna . PGA Kentucky Championship Tour Announced to return to Nicholasville . 13 April 2024 . The Asbury Collegian . Asbury University . February 4, 2024.
  41. Web site: Kentucky Championship . Kentucky Championship . Kentucky Championship.

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