Commerce Deputy Secretary Graves and Sen Wicker Spotlight Broadband Infrastructure Investments in Mississippi

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves joined Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) in Jackson (MS) to announce the details of a $32.7 million broadband infrastructure grant coming to the state to help close the digital divide and expand access to high-speed internet. Deputy Secretary Graves and Sen Wicker shared that these grants, provided by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), will fund 10 projects across rural Mississippi that will serve 12,487 underserved households, 256 businesses, and 26 anchor institutions that include schools and libraries. The officials also toured a broadband fiber project in rural Madison County (MS) which was one of the recipients of the recently announced NTIA grants. The project, led by the sixth-largest US wireless carrier, C Spire, will serve 101 households and 32 businesses in the county. C Spire is constructing 10.7 miles of fiber and offering broadband service to residents for $80. Following the grant announcement, Deputy Secretary Graves and Sen Wicker participated in a roundtable with a number of Mississippi Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Jackson State University, to spotlight the critical role HBCUs will play in helping to expand broadband equitably across the state and country.