Starkville’s quest to become one of the first gigabit cities in Mississippi took another step forward Wednesday as C Spire began pre-registration efforts for its upcoming Fiber to the Home high-speed Internet service.
Starkville is one of nine Mississippi communities vying to become the first recipient of the company’s initiative that will provide residential access to 1 gigabyte-per-second upload and download speeds, a connection that local officials say will transform the city and provide a significant boon to economic development.
In November, C Spire officials announced that Batesville, Clinton, Corinth, Hattiesburg, Horn Lake, McComb, Quitman, Ridgeland and Starkville advanced to a second round of Fiber to the Home competition in which the company will use pre-registration percentages in designated neighborhoods that measure interest in service. Once percentage goals are reached, C Spire plans to begin fiber installation in those areas. A refundable $10 deposit is required in the preregistration process, which is hosted at www.cspire.com/fiberhome.
C Spire divided Starkville into 10 “fiberhoods” — Longmeadow/Southwest Starkville; Timbercove/College Station/Polos; Greenoaks/Lakes/Greensboro Center and Tally Ho; Cotton District/Downtown/Historic Central Starkville; Hiwassee/Reed Road/Hospital; Oktibbeha Gardens/Old West Point Road; Blackjack; University Hills/Highlands; Crossgates Avalon/Lakeside; and South Montgomery — which require a pre-registration threshold of 35 to 45 percent before they’re considered qualified for construction. Those areas, Mayor Parker Wiseman said, were grouped based on geography and population density.
On Tuesday, Starkville aldermen approved a 45-year franchise agreement with Telepak Networks for fiber installation by a split 4-3 vote. The agreement yields access to right-of-way access for construction while securing monies for the city based on a percentage of future television and phone service revenues. State law caps franchise agreements at 25 years. However, the franchise agreement consists of a 25-year term and two automatic, 10-year rollovers.
Tuesday’s board meeting featured the only public hearing on the matter. Aldermen had two choices: either accept the agreement or miss out on the C Spire initiative since the company was set to begin the next phase of the Fiber to the Home competition Wednesday.
Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins launched an impassioned, 15-minute plea against the contract, saying it was a “bad deal” for Starkville and taking the nature of the rushed vote to task. Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn also came out against the pending deal, and Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn attempted to table the vote while seeking an additional public hearing at the next board meeting.
“This is a program that we competed to be a part of,” Wiseman said. “There were many others who competed to be a part of it because, like us, they wanted this transformational service offered in their community. We can gain this service through no expense of our own. The terms they required in the contract, in light of the business risk they’re taking to bring something special to our residents, I don’t have a problem with. Some cities, even though C Spire communicated that they were willing to accept a franchise fee comparable to the lowest fees already on the books, were comfortable having no fees at all to demonstrate how badly they wanted this initiative.”
Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver, Ward 3 Alderman David Little, Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker and Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard voted in favor of the agreement as presented at the table. Wiseman was named the project manager for the agreement.
C Spire originally announced this fall it would pick a Fiber to the Home launch city based upon applicants’ progressive, business-minded leadership; cost-saving agreements with local governments; and measured demand shown in the preregistration process. The number of communities increased during the initiative’s first phase because of the strength, quality and comprehensive nature of applicants’ submissions, the company announced in November.
Finalists were picked by a review panel that weighed a number of factors, including the municipality’s proximity to C Spire’s fiber optic infrastructure, community mobilization capacities and cost-saving, construction-facilitating incentives.
The 1-gigabyte service is expected to be up and running by mid-2014.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
