C Spire Expanding Fiber Broadband Footprint

C Spire Home is bringing its Gigabit FTTH platform to the Mississippi markets of Saltillo and Gulfport, with plans to add Biloxi to C Spire markets beginning next year. The expansion will cover roughly 78K households in total.

Saltillo, a small town in the northeast area of the state, is a suburb of Tupelo in Lee County. Work on the FTTH platform is slated to begin in early November, with customer services starting by the first quarter of 2020.

Work in Gulfport also will begin next month, with expansion to areas of neighboring Biloxi early next year. Initial Gulfport subscribers will be turned up during the first quarter of next year. Thousands of homes will be passed in Harrison County – the state’s second most populous – by next summer.

The projects, which will provide subscribers with Internet access, live streaming TV and premium digital phone service, represent the 23rd and 24th C Spire initiatives in Mississippi. The company says it will add to its 9,200 route miles of backbone fiber in the state. The Harrison County project will cover 20 “fiberhoods” and a majority of the two cities’ households. The Lee County project will cover much of the county’s 32,000 households and many “fiberhoods,” though the press release doesn’t offer a precise number.

C Spire says that recent studies found that Gigabit speeds can add $5,437 – 3.1% — to the price of a $175,000 home.

C Spire, both a regional wireless carrier and fiber broadband carrier, has made several recent announcements regarding its broadband strategy:

• In March, the provider brought its FTTH to The Highlands, a residential subdivision in Jones County. It is outside the city of Ellisville and represented C Spire’s first foray into southern Mississippi.

• In January, Telecompetitor discussed C Spire’s broadband consortium with Chief Innovation Officer Craig Sparks. Partners in the initiative are Microsoft, Nokia, Airspan Networks and Siklu.

• In October, 2018, Indatel Services expanded its regional networks by adding C Spire. At that point, C Spire added 8,600 route miles across Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. C Spire brought multiple data centers and major locations in 12 cities to the Indatel network.

C Spire Improves Mobile Broadband Speeds and Prepares Network for Coming 5G Era

Telecom company installs new, next-generation cellular base stations and software in its 1,200-plus cell sites

Ridgeland, Miss. (September 17, 2019) – Consumers and businesses are experiencing a 15 to 20 percent improvement in mobile broadband speeds throughout much of C Spire’s wireless network – thanks to installation of new base stations and software that will serve as the foundation for the company’s transition to the next generation of cellular technology.

C Spire, a Mississippi-based telecommunications and technology services company, operates the nation’s largest privately- owned mobile services firm and is in the final stages of work on the multi-million-dollar project with completion expected by the end of this month.

The firm has spent much of 2019 upgrading the 1,200-plus cell sites in its wireless network and laying the groundwork for the next phase of mobile communications, which promises to transform how consumers live, work and play and how businesses thrive in the new 21st century digital economy.

“We are uniquely positioned with low, mid and high-band spectrum to ensure that we design and engineer a network that is truly customer inspired and fully meets customer needs for speed, latency and coverage,” said Alan Jones, senior vice president of Access and Deployment for C Spire.

Before the company starts rolling out next generation cellular technology, though, it must have the new, updated base stations and software that will enable a smooth transition from current 4G LTE technology and maximum flexibility and efficiency for use of precious spectrum resources.

“We’re using carrier aggregation technology, which brings together spectrum from multiple frequency bands for improved speed and spectral efficiency, and other software and hardware improvements to achieve better speeds and pave the way for Voice over LTE or high-definition mobile voice service,” Jones added.

The new base stations are adaptable, powerful and able to meet C Spire’s future needs for a next generation cellular network, software-defined services and the Internet of Things. “Not only does this new technology deliver high quality connectivity and coverage, but it helps us quickly evolve our network to meet changing requirements,” Jones said.

New mobile networks are expected to be the foundation for advances in smart home applications, smart manufacturing, smart cities and broader Internet of Things technology, including humanoid robotics, connected cars, remote surgery, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

“Imagine downloading a 4K movie in seconds or watching video in a crowded football stadium with no buffering,” Jones said. “That’s the potential, the promise and the challenge of 5G. We need to chart an intelligent, timely and efficient path from 4G LTE to 5G that makes this a reality.”

Some analysts are forecasting the IOT market to grow to $520 billion by 2021 and the number of cellular IoT connections to reach 3.5 billion by 2023. “The potential is mind-boggling – so we have to make sure we have the right technology and the right network to support all of that activity,” Jones added.

As a part of the C Spire Tech Movement to build a better future through technology, education and innovation, 5G could help close the digital divide that limits innovation and opportunity in rural areas of the U.S. The technology could pave the way for new education possibilities, opportunities for rural farmers and small-town entrepreneurs while giving working people greater access to healthcare and near instant connections to friends and family.

Earlier this year, C Spire formed a consortium with Airspan Networks, Microsoft, Nokia and Siklu to test and deploy a variety of broadband technologies and new business models for use by regional fixed and wireless internet service providers, utilities and others to help improve broadband connectivity and adoption in rural areas.

To learn more about C Spire 5G, visit www.cspire.com/5G. To learn more about the C Spire Tech Movement, visit www.cspire.com/techmvmt. To learn more about the C Spire Rural Broadband Consortium, visit www.cspire.com/rural-broadband-consortium.

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 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.

C Spire Business Named One of World’s Top Managed Service Providers in 2019

Channel Futures 12th annual ranking of 501 most elite MSPs honors nation’s first full-stack MSP

Ridgeland, Miss. (July 30, 2019) – C Spire Business has been selected for the sixth consecutive year as one of the world’s premier managed service providers by Channel Futures, one of the leading media brands devoted to the diverse spectrum of channel companies that are part of the growing digital services revolution.

C Spire Business placed 13th on the list of 501 companies worldwide released in June, up from 18th in 2018 and the only MSP in the southeastern portion of the U.S. to make the top 20 of the IT channel’s largest and most comprehensive ranking of leading managed service providers worldwide.

Every year, MSPs worldwide complete an extensive survey and application on product offerings, growth rates, annual total and recurring revenue, pricing structures, revenue mix and more and are ranked by Channel Futures based on a unique methodology that weighs how well the company’s business strategy anticipates trends in the fast-evolving channel ecosystem.

“We’re very honored to receive this recognition. It is another indicator that our best practices, strategies and technologies make all the difference in how we deliver superior IT products and services to our customers,” said Allen McIntosh, general manager of C Spire Business. “We’re proud to be recognized as an industry leader.”

A unit of C Spire, a diversified telecommunications and technology services company, C Spire Business joined other top MSPs on the list, including Sirius Computer Solutions, Inc., TPx Communications, PCM Inc. and Optiv Security Inc., according to Kris Blackmon, content director of Channel Partners and Channel Futures and lead of the MS 501 program.

“The 2019 MSP 501 winners are the most elite, innovative and strategic IT service providers on the planet,” Blackmon said, “and they stand as a model of excellence in the industry.” Since its inception 12 years ago, the annual list has gained popularity and clout in the industry among MSPs and business customers ranging from small businesses to enterprises.

C Spire Business, with a 57 net promoter score that makes customers 2x more likely to recommend them to others, is the industry’s first full-stack managed information technology solutions provider, but customers can count on far more than just gaining access to the latest technology, according to McIntosh.

“As the industry’s first full-stack managed solutions provider, we partner with customers to help them successfully navigate their biggest business challenges through technology and give them resources to make their business successful in an increasingly data-driven world,” McIntosh said.

C Spire Business offers advanced connectivity, cloud, software, hardware, communications, professional services, cybersecurity, business continuity and technology support in a single, seamless, managed IT solution portfolio. “From desktop to data center, we help customers work smarter, faster and more secure,” McIntosh said.

With over 500 service professionals, multiple data centers and operation of nearly 9,000 route miles of fiber optic infrastructure, C Spire Business is dedicated to delivering world-class managed services to a variety of businesses. The firm is ranked 9th in the world among cloud service and No. 1 in the world among health care managed IT service providers, McIntosh added.

The 2019 MSP 501 list is based on data collected by Channel Futures and its sister site, Channel Partners. Data was collected Feb. 28 through May 31. The MSP 501 list recognizes top managed service providers based on metrics, including recurring revenue, growth and other factors.

About C Spire Business
C Spire Business is a unit of C Spire, a Mississippi-based diversified telecommunications and technology services provider. The unit offers the nation’s first full-stack managed IT solutions suite of services, including advanced connectivity, cloud, software, hardware, communications, professional services, cybersecurity, business continuity and technology support in a single, seamless, managed IT solutions portfolio. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire Business, visit www.cspire.com and click on the business tab or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.