C Spire has turned up 5G service this year on 54 cell sites in Harrison and Jackson counties on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.
The sites serve 21 communities, including the cities of Biloxi, D’lberville, Long Beach, Gulfport, Pass Christian, Pascagoula, Gautier, Ocean Springs and Moss Point.
The new service is part of a $1 billion investment that will continue during the next three years to bring 5G to the region. Almost 100 sites have been launched since late last year. Other recently launched sites are in Lincoln, Lowndes, Forrest, Lamar, Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties.
More sites in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties and the communities of Crystal Springs, Hazlehurst, Byram, McComb and elsewhere on the Mississippi Gulf Coast are among those that will get 5G service by the end of June. Other areas will follow.
“We’re rapidly bringing consumers the benefits of new 5G wireless network technology where they need it the most with fast speeds, better service and an improved experience,” Brian Caraway, the general manager of the company’s wireless division, said in a press release. “Using a backbone of fiber optic infrastructure, we’re rolling out a better 5G network now and for the future.”
In addition to expanding its 5G footprint, C Spire is adding Band 41 carriers with carrier aggregation and expanding cell site antenna capacity with 12-layer MIMO, 258 QAM modulation. The aim is to improve spectral efficiency and optimize the overall network for balanced data delivery.
C Spire also is expanding in Alabama. In December, the service provider began its first operations in the state with fiber services in the northern portions of Jasper. At the time, C Spire said it would expand to scattered Trussville neighborhoods by the end of 2020. Later in the month, the company announced the acquisition of Harbor Communications LLC, a wireline provider serving the Alabama Gulf Coast.
