New Ridgeland, Miss. Maps to Boost C Spire Fiberhoods

RIDGELAND, MS — More areas in Ridgeland are poised to qualify for 1 Gbps consumer broadband Internet service from C Spire now that new “fiberhood” maps have been published on the company’s FTTH website.

“We’ve worked very closely with city leaders on these maps and the changes rolled out reflect the reality that it is easier to qualify areas for construction if they are smaller in size.” The new maps reduce the size of several fiberhoods and the corresponding number of households needed to pre-register for the high-speed Internet and related digital TV and home phone services.

Pre-registration levels remain at either 35 or 45 percent for each fiberhood, but redrawing the boundaries should make it easier to see progress in qualifying neighborhoods for the game-changing service, according to Jared Baumann, market development and deployment manager for C Spire’s consumer fiber services.

Smaller Fiberhoods Ease Burden of Qualification
“We’ve worked very closely with city leaders on these maps and the changes rolled out today reflect the reality that it is easier to qualify areas for construction if they are smaller in size,” Baumann said. “With smaller fiberhoods, the results of grassroots efforts by residents are more dramatic and encourage more homeowners to pre-register to get this infrastructure in their neighborhood.”

In some cases, the company removed large apartment complexes and related buildings that were already under long-term or exclusive agreements with other broadband providers, resulting in the elimination of the Towne Center fiberhood.

Baumann said the company is not closing the door on future construction of the infrastructure for apartment complexes. He said C Spire will consider those buildings if owners approach them and request the service. He also encouraged renters who want high-speed connections to inform building managers.

In addition to eliminating the Towne Center fiberhood, the company made the following changes:

• Divided the Central fiber hood into two separate fiberhoods – a Central South and a Central North fiberhood. The pre-registration percentage requirement for both areas remains at 35 percent.


• Created a separate fiberhood for the Montrachet, Muirwood and Camden Park areas by removing them from the Ann Smith fiberhood. The new fiber hood comprised of the three neighborhoods has a 35 percent pre-registration requirement.


• Reduced the size of the newly configured Ann Smith fiberhood. The pre-registration percentage requirement is 45 percent.


• Reduced the size of the Reservoir and Southeast fiberhoods. The pre-registration percentage requirement remains at 35 percent for both areas.

While today’s changes only affect six of the 11 areas in Ridgeland under consideration for the service, C Spire is considering making changes in other cities with similar circumstances. “We want to ensure that this infrastructure is available everywhere residents want to experience the quality of life improvements that accompany this technology and the resulting economic and social benefits,” Baumann said.

C Spire began installing fiber optic cable in Ridgeland’s Bridgewater neighborhood earlier this month and plans to expand those efforts to the Old Agency East fiberhood, which includes Dinsmor and several other areas, soon. A third area in Ridgeland, Highland Colony North, is expected to reach its pre-registration target soon and qualify for construction.

Moving from Worst to First
Baumann said the company is on a mission to move Mississippi from worst to first in national rankings for average Internet speeds and consumer access to super-fast broadband services. C Spire is building the first statewide 1 Gbps fiber to the home network in the U.S. The initiative already represents the largest single deployment of this infrastructure – in terms of total cities at one time – in North America.

Nine Mississippi cities, including Batesville, Clinton, Corinth, Hattiesburg, Horn Lake, McComb, Quitman, Ridgeland and Starkville, were selected by C Spire last November for the game-changing technology after the company said it would use its 4,600 miles of fiber optic infrastructure and spend millions of dollars to connect cities in the first phase.