Jeff Ayres

The Clarion-Ledger

Jackson is the latest - and largest - city to sign a franchise agreement with C Spire Wireless to offer the company's Fiber To The Home high-speed Internet service.

Online pre-registration begins today at www.cspire.com/fiberhome. As is the case in the nine other cities in the state that have agreed to the service, individual neighborhoods will get Fiber To The Home if enough people in those neighborhoods sign up. Fiber To The Home costs anywhere from $70 a month for Internet service to $150 per month for a web/phone/TV bundle. Each customer also must make a $10 refundable deposit.

The percentage of residents signing up needed for the city to get the service range from 35 to 45 percent of people living in "fiberhoods," individual neighborhoods or groups of them with access to C Spire infrastructure, the company says.

In a news release, Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber says faster Internet will spell more economic opportunity and better quality of life citywide. "It's a new day in Jackson, and we're excited about partnering with C Spire to create a bright future for the people in this city. Gigabit infrastructure will address so many needs in our city, from education and health care to business expansion, while improving home values," he said.

At 1 Gigabit per second, Fiber To The Home offers Internet speeds that C Spire says is 100 times faster than that of its competitors. The effort launched last year.

The other cities that have pre-qualified include Batesville, Clinton, Corinth, Hattiesburg, Horn Lake, McComb, Quitman, Ridgeland and Starkville. Neighborhoods in Ridgeland, Starkville and Horn Lake, along with the entire city of Quitman, have met registration threshholds needed for installation of the service to begin.

Contact Jeff Ayres at (601) 961-7050 or jeff.ayres@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @jeffayres71 on Twitter.