Mississippi receives funding for broadband infrastructure expansion

(The Center Square) – Ten counties in the state will benefit from an investment in the state’s broadband infrastructure, Gov. Tate Reeves said.

The first-term Republican announced the state has received $32.7 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to address broadband infrastructure in the state. The funding will provide broadband to 12,487 underserved households.

“When Mississippi Public Utilities Staff approached us about whether a grant application should be submitted, I knew we absolutely had to proceed,” Reeves said in the release. “Mississippi received the second highest award total out of any state – a testament to the strength of our application and proof positive just how important these 10 projects are to not only Mississippi but to our country. My administration will continue to leverage every tool at our disposal to ensure all Mississippians, regardless of where they live, have access to the full breadth of benefits technology has to offer.”

Funding for broadband infrastructure will be placed in Smith, Calhoun, Issaquena, Madison, Covington, Lincoln, Benton, Union, Coahoma, and Pontotoc counties.

Smith County is set to receive the lion’s share of the funds with $7.625 million for the Bay Springs Smith County (TEC) project. Covington County will receive $5.326 million for the CableSouth Media 3 project. MaxxSouth Pontotoc in Pontotoc County will receive $5.507 million, and Uplink Coahoma in Coahoma County will receive $4.859 million.

“Providing more Mississippians with broadband access is integral to the future of our state,” Mississippi Public Utilities Staff Executive Director Sally Burchfield Doty said in the release. “Students, small businesses, and increasingly health-care providers need broadband connectivity to participate in today’s digital world. The Public Utilities Staff, working with Senator Wicker, Senator Hyde-Smith, and Governor Reeves, partnered with eight local providers to expand broadband access to thousands of Mississippians in some of the most rural parts of our state.”

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