now happening at c spire

Madison Sustains Early Momentum and Qualifies its Third Area for C Spire’s 1 Gbps Fiber to the Home Internet Technology Initiative

2015-08-10

Construction for 100 times faster Internet and related services set to begin later this month in city’s first two fiberhoods

Madison, Miss. (August 10, 2015) – Homeowner pre-registration exceeded the required threshold in Madison last week – helping the city qualify its third area for C Spire’s ultra-fast 1 Gbps (Gigabit per second) Fiber to the Home Internet access and related services in record time.

Madison’s Fontanelle-Ashton Park-Locust Hill fiberhood reached its pre-registration target on Monday, Aug. 3 and now joins the Reunion and Charlestowne-Brisage-Madison Oaks fiberhoods, which qualified in April and June for 100 times faster Internet, Super HDTM TV and nationwide home phone service.

All three areas of town have reached their initial goal in record time – just 36, 79 and 134 days respectively - after municipal leaders promised in March to sign up more residents faster than any other Mississippi city for the next-generation suite of services.

“Our residents have a lot of interest in high-speed Internet and this sustained response shows that we’re up for any challenge and ready to move at the speed of light to qualify as many areas of our city as quickly as possible for this game-changing infrastructure,” said Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler.

C Spire plans to start construction later this month in the city’s first two fiberhoods and offer the first commercial ultra-fast broadband Internet access and related services in Madison by the end of the year. Service is expected to be activated in the Fontanelle fiberhood by February 2016.

Butler said aggressive mobilization efforts by local schools, community groups, churches and neighborhood associations have played a central role in boosting consumer interest and accelerating homeowner signups for the services.

Online pre-registration began in March at www.cspire.com/madison. Since that time, hundreds of residents throughout the city have expressed their interest in the suite of game-changing services by pre-registering and making $10 refundable deposits.

“We’re pleased with the sustained interest and excitement about Internet at the speed of light in Madison and other Mississippi cities,” said Suzy Hays, senior vice president of Consumer Markets for C Spire. “Fiber to the Home is a transformative technology that can serve as a platform for technology investment, economic growth and job creation.”

Butler said community organizers, neighborhood associations and volunteers still have a lot of work to do to ensure that the service is widely available in the city’s remaining 18 fiberhoods. “We’re doubling down on our efforts to reach every resident in every area so that they know first-hand about this incredible opportunity to improve the quality of life in our community for generations to come.”

Madison is the 8th and highest per capita income city to qualify for the historic statewide technology initiative. C Spire turned up commercial Gigabit Internet and related services for its first residential customers in Quitman, Ridgeland and Starkville last year, in Clinton earlier this summer and will activate areas in Jackson and Madison this fall.

The suite of services, which includes 100 times faster Gigabit Internet access, super HDTM TV and home phone, are competitively priced with additional discounts for C Spire Wireless customers.

To pre-register for the suite of services in Madison, go online at www.cspire.com/madison. To learn more about C Spire’s Fiber to the Home initiative, visit www.cspire.com/fiberhome.

About C Spire
C Spire is a diversified telecommunications and technology services company that provides world-class, customer-inspired wireless communications, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access and related services as well as a full suite of dedicated Internet, wireless, IP Voice, data and cloud services for businesses. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.