Special to the American

C Spire has claimed the top spot as Mississippi’s fastest fixed broadband Internet service provider (ISP) for the second year in a row, according to a new report by Seattle-based Ookla, the worldwide leader in broadband Internet connection testing and performance metrics.

In its nationwide market report released earlier this month, Ookla’s flagship public site, Speedtest.net, named the C Spire Fiber unit of the Mississippi-based diversified telecommunications and technology services company as the No. 1 ISP in the Magnolia State.

“… Mississippi-based C Spire offers not only Gigabit home Internet, but also packages this service along with TV and home phone service," the study states. "In the past 18 years, C Spire has invested much time and effort into maintaining and upgrading their service lines, creating increased wireless and fiber speeds."

C Spire download and upload speeds ranged up to five times faster than other major ISPs in the state. Both speeds represented double-digit jumps – 25.5 percent and 15.2 percent respectively - from Ookla’s 2015 report, which also named C Spire Fiber as the state’s No. 1 ISP.

While its Gigabit service has achieved speeds up to 1,000 Megabits per second (Mbps) in many areas, Speedtest.net uses a blended average that includes all forms of fixed Internet access, including C Spire legacy customers in several smaller markets in Mississippi and its small business Internet product, which offers 100 Mbps.

Even with the blended approach, C Spire Fiber speeds far outpaced other major ISPs in the state, including Cable One, Comcast’s XFINITY, MaxxSouth Broadband and AT&T U-verse, according to the report published on Aug. 3, which also attributed fiber initiatives like C Spire’s with “pushing providers to offer faster non-fiber speeds.”

The report confirms C Spire’s dramatic impact on fixed broadband Internet speeds since launching a Fiber-to-the- Home initiative in 2013. The company provides service in Starkville, Quitman, Jackson, Clinton, Ridgeland, Madison and Flora and is offering service in Brandon and portions of Madison, Hinds and Rankin counties.

C Spire’s average download and upload speeds also were significantly higher than Mississippi consumer and business averages of 37.63 Mbps and 10.30 Mbps as well as U.S. national averages of 54.97 Mbps and 18.88 Mbps, according to the report.

“In the 21st century, access to ultra-fast Internet is essential for continued technology advances in education, medicine and business,” said Ashley Phillips, general manager of C Spire Home services. “Our infrastructure investment will help Mississippi grow organically, add jobs, expand our economy and improve the quality of life.”

While states like Mississippi and other parts of the country are making good progress, the U.S. needs to continue its focus on improving broadband access and speeds, according to the Speedtest report. The U.S. currently ranks 20th in the world for fixed broadband Internet average speeds.

For more details on the Speedtest.net nationwide market report, go to www.speedtest.net/reports/united-states.