Ridgeland Becomes Fourth Mississippi City to Qualify for C Spire’s FTTH

RIDGELAND, MS - The city of Ridgeland has qualified its first area for ultra-fast 1 Gbps fiber to the home Internet and related digital television and home phone services from C Spire, a telecommunications and technology services company. Ridgeland’s Bridgewater fiberhood joins areas in Horn Lake and Starkville and the entire town of Quitman where homeowners exceeded their pre-registration targets, which means C Spire can now launch the engineering and construction phases of its historic fiber optics technology initiative that promises Internet access up to 100 times faster than national average broadband speeds.

“We’re pleased that Ridgeland has reached an important milestone and has qualified its first area for Internet at the speed of light,” said Hu Meena, president and CEO of C Spire. “Fiber to the home is a next-generation technology infrastructure that will help Mississippi cities become hubs for future investment and growth.”

Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee, whose city already has a reputation as one of the nation’s most family and business friendly communities, said municipal leaders have been focused on educating and informing residents about the benefits associated with fiber to the home since first learning about the initiative last year.

“It’s exciting to make this opportunity available to our residents,” McGee said. “This is technology infrastructure that will enhance education and small business creation, attract high-tech business investment, jobs and new families while boosting home values and the quality of life in our city.”

Nine Mississippi Cities Part of Initial Phase of FTTH Initiative
Homeowner pre-registration began last December in Batesville, Clinton, Corinth, Hattiesburg, Horn Lake, McComb, Quitman, Ridgeland and Starkville, who were selected by C Spire as finalists for the nation’s first and only statewide roll out of next-generation Internet access, premium HD digital television and home phone services.

Since that time, local government, community and business leaders in the nine Mississippi cities have rallied residents to pre-register at percentage levels that would qualify their areas to be among the first for C Spire’s build out of the service. All of the cities have campaigns underway and many are making steady progress, but efforts in Ridgeland and the three other cities paid early dividends in the last several days.

“What’s really exciting about this opportunity is that we can only grasp today a small fraction of the potential we are unlocking for our city’s future,” McGee said. “I can envision tremendous benefits and growth opportunities for future generations as a result of our efforts. It definitely solidifies and builds on our reputation as one of the most progressive cities in America.”

Ridgeland Mayor to Continue Pre-registration Efforts for 1 Gig Service
Besides enlisting schools, homeowner groups and businesses and tapping into the city’s extensive social media channels to amplify the message, McGee said he made it a personal priority to communicate daily with residents about the public policy benefits of fiber optic infrastructure. “We’ve been very focused on making this a reality in our city. We use every chance we get to let everyone know about the tremendous benefits and the special opportunity this represents.”

McGee has gone door to door canvassing residents, sent pre-recorded telephone messages to homeowners and led a 27-mile bike ride through 12 of the city’s neighborhoods to raise awareness about the need to pre-register for C Spire’s Fiber to the Home service. He and his staff plan to continue efforts to sign up the remaining nine fiberhoods in Ridgeland for Gigabit infrastructure.

“We won’t be content until we have every neighborhood in our city qualified for this service,” he said. “We hope the progress we’ve made in Bridgewater will encourage efforts in other areas of our city who want to keep up with their neighbors and get access to some of the fastest Internet in the world.”

C Spire hopes to start turning up 1 Gig service in the first C Spire Fiber neighborhoods by this summer. The service is expected to pave the way for improvements in the areas of healthcare, education, civic life, municipal services and economic growth.