Regional wireless and fiber provider C Spire has begun serving residents of neighboring Alabama. The first subscribers are in the northern portion of Jasper.
Scattered Trussville neighborhoods will gain access by the end of the year. Pelham, Helena, Northport, Tuscaloosa and parts of Mobile County have franchise agreements with C Spire and are slated for construction and service activation during 2021.
The Mississippi-based company is offering the new subscribers Gigabit fiber-based internet, Smart WiFi powered by Plume, home and digital home phone service. Those communities apparently are eager for this to happen. C Spire moves into communities based on its FiberHood measure of comparative demand shown by homeowners, businesses and the rental community.
“We’re excited about bringing high-capacity fiber broadband services, which rely on a transformational and truly revolutionary technology infrastructure that will boost home and business values, broaden entertainment opportunities, help expand local economies and improve the quality of life for residents in Jasper and other parts of Alabama,” C Spire Home General Manager Ashley Phillips said in a press release.
Alabama is 38th in the country for broadband access, according to the release. The state is attempting to improve its standing through state funding and has established the Alabama Rural Broadband Coalition, which is comprised of community, business and governmental executives. The move by C Spire, of course, fits in with those goals.
In early December of last year, C Spire said that it would expand its service to Alabama areas including Birmingham and Shelby County and that construction would begin during 2020. Though C Spire’s wireline division generally focuses on smaller markets with fewer established players, it said at the time that it expected to be successful in the more competitive Birmingham market.
People in Alabama no doubt hope C Spire has the same success it says it has had in its native Mississippi. The company says that it has boosted overall broadband access by 200% since 2014 and recently was named the fastest provider in the state by testing and analysis firm Ookla.
