9th District Congressman Doug Collins met with Windstream CEO Tony Thomas in Collins' Gainesville office Tuesday. At the meeting, the congressman and Thomas discussed ongoing issues with Windstream service in Northeast Georgia.
Afterward Collins called the meeting "a step in the right direction" toward improving Internet service across the region.
“Windstream has received federal money under the Connect America Fund and substantial federal tax breaks, and I am committed to holding them accountable to taxpayers and their customers," Collins said in a press release.
During the meeting, Collins said he asked for, among other things, a breakdown on how these funds are being used and if the company is on track to meet the "benchmarks" required of the funding.
“Today was a step in the right direction. Mr. Thomas has promised to hire an additional 40 employees to serve customers in northeast Georgia. However, Windstream employees were never the issue. At today’s meeting, Mr. Thomas suggested the infrastructure and network has improved in recent years. It is now Mr. Thomas and Windstream’s job to prove to my constituents that their service will meet the needs of the community.”
Collins says he asked Thomas to return to the area in the near future for a town hall meeting but was told that for the time being, Windstream will focus its efforts on improving its infrastructure.
"I hope Mr. Thomas will accept my invitation to engage with his customers directly in this way, and see that Windstream needs to provide real solutions for those who live in areas affected by poor service and extremely slow internet speeds. To better hold them accountable, Windstream has agreed to meet regularly with my office to discuss the progress of infrastructure improvements.”
