C-Spire to Spend Over $2 Million to Build Fiber Infrastructure in Rural Mississippi

(UC) – Telecommunications firm C Spire plans to spend almost $2.2 million to install more than 30 miles of underground fiber infrastructure in four rural Mississippi counties. 

The company was one of 19 recipients of a total of $75 million in federal grant funds under the Mississippi Broadband COVID-19 program designed to help residents and businesses in unserved or underserved areas of the state get fast, reliable internet access in 2020.

Each recipient is required to match 50 percent of the overall cost of their individual project.

“This program will help get more broadband in more places more quickly by relying on public-private partnerships to expand the availability of high-quality, symmetric internet access,” said C Spire CEO Hu Meena.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. earlier this year exponentially increased the need for reliable, high-speed internet in homes as the county entered a new phase of working from home, distance learning for students and a huge increase in online activities such a shopping and food delivery.

In response, C Spire will install over 33 miles of underground fiber infrastructure in unserved parts of Hinds, Madison, Amite and Pike counties and will offer ultra-fast broadband internet access to consumers and businesses in those rural areas by the end of the year.

In Hinds County, the company will install fiber for dozens of residents along Highway 18 southwest of Raymond and northwest of Utica along Highway 27.

In north central Madison County, the company plans to deploy fiber to serve businesses in Canton west of Interstate 55 along Virlilia Road.

In southwest Mississippi, the company will place fiber for dozens of rural residents and businesses in an area southwest of the town of Liberty in Amite County along Highway 48.

In Pike County, C Spire will provide fiber access for residents north of Osyka along Highway 51 and west of the town along Highway 584 and Old Mill Road.

After installing the underground fiber broadband infrastructure, the company plans to start offering a suite of next-generation services, including Gigabit speed internet access for residents and businesses, by the end of December.

For more information about C Spire’s fiber broadband program, go to www.cspire.com/fiber.

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