C Spire will invest $1 billion to expand 5G service in Mississippi over the next three years.

The company said it would also expand fiber to 200,000 homes and businesses in the Magnolia State along with Alabama. According to C Spire, the benefits of investing in a project of this size include a growing economy and a better quality of life for residents.

Once completed, the project is expected to bring all-fiber infrastructure to within 1,000 feet of half of the state’s residential areas and deliver 5G service to nearly 600 premises representing more than 60% of the state.

“I’m thrilled to see that C Spire is investing so much to build out its high-speed internet infrastructure to support the future of education, health care, technology, and small business in Mississippi,” U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said. “Because we live in a digital world, better, faster internet connections are critical to keeping our state competitive and boosting our $100 billion-plus economy,” he added.

Wicker said C Spire’s project to bring 5G service to Mississippi means every major part of the state will be able to use the next generation technology. The company expects to activate more than 300 sites by the end of the year.

Gov. Tate Reeves said the infrastructure initiative will benefit residents because the technology is needed for education, workforce development, health care and economic growth. 

“We need companies like C Spire stepping up to the plate to move our state forward,” Reeves said.

C Spire CEO Hu Meena said the investment is expected to result in fiber within reach for half of all Mississippians – a record for the Southeast and 12th best in the U.S. – and millions of dollars in secondary economic benefits for both states through contracts and agreements with firms who will help C Spire with the massive infrastructure deployment and construction efforts.

“We have a strong reputation of providing world-class products and services to consumers and businesses and this investment signals that we intend to deliver these benefits faster than ever before,”  Meena said, noting that the firm will make the initial investment in three years with another $500 million in capital spending over a five-year period.