C Spire says that fiber network construction has begun in Hoover and Homewood, Alabama and has provided updates to its other activity in the state. The activity is part of C Spire’s three-year $500 million investment in Alabama.
All of the projects will culminate in gigabit service. In addition to Hoover and Homewood, work is ongoing in Pelham and Helena and service has begun in Trussville, Jasper, Tuscaloosa and Northport. C Spire is “building and servicing” customers in Mobile and Baldwin counties. The company also recently acquired Troy Cablevision in southern AL.
In Trussville, which the company says is the eighth fastest growing city in the state, C Spire will serve 26,000 residents and support the city’s “2040 Plan,” a 20-year blueprint for a competitive and diverse economy built on a smart city infrastructure.
“Today, less than 30 percent of homes in Alabama have access to fiber, yet broadband internet powered by fiber optics is recognized as an indicator of growth and opportunity,” Ben Moncrief, C Spire’s executive vice president for Alabama markets, said in a press release. “Getting fiber in the ground across Alabama is a high priority at C Spire, and we are investing $500 million over three years to get it done right.”
In late January 2021, C Spire announced a $1 billion network expansion to bring high speed fiber and 5G mobile networks to Mississippi and Alabama. The investment was to be split roughly in half between the two states. At the time, C Spire said that the investment would involve thousands of miles of fiber and make service available to more than 200,000 homes and businesses in the two states by 2025.
The Homewood project was announced in early December of last year. At that time, construction in the first three of 24 “fiberhoods” was underway. Plans called for the first customers to be online this year.
The acquisition of Troy Cablevision, which operated in Pike, Coffee, Crenshaw and Dale counties in Alabama, was completed in late December of last year.
