C Spire

While broadband availability in the United States continues to expand, people living in rural areas remain among the least likely to have broadband access. Mississippi, for example, is ranked 46 in broadband access and 47 in terms of urban population. The lack of broadband access and usage places rural areas across the nation at a disadvantage for a variety of reasons including economic growth, healthcare, and education. However, cost-to-serve is the primary challenge associated with bringing broadband to rural areas.

C Spire announced that homeowner pre-registration exceeded the required threshold in a second area of the city of Ridgeland (MS) -- helping it qualify for the company’s ultra-fast 1 Gbps (Gigabit per second) fiber to the home Internet service and related digital TV and home phone services.

Ridgeland’s Old Agency East fiberhood, which includes the Dinsmor and Greenwood Plantation neighborhoods, reached its 45 pre-registration target and now joins the Bridgewater fiberhood, which qualified in late March along with areas in the cities of Horn Lake, Starkville and the entire town of Quitman for service that promises Internet access up to 100 times faster than national average broadband speeds.

The six areas in the four cities now move into the next phase of the historic initiative where C Spire puts the finishing touches on engineering plans, meets with city officials and residents and starts construction of the fiber infrastructure that will serve as the platform for the next-generation services. Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee, whose city already has a reputation as Mississippi’s most tech-friendly community, said the latest progress shows that momentum is continuing to build as more residents learn about the opportunity to invest in their neighborhood’s future.

Nine Mississippi cities are part of initial phase of c spire’s ultra-fast fiber to the home initiative. The Ridgeland mayor vows to continue community pre-registration efforts for 1 Gig service.