C Spire Business Solutions (CSBS) has introduced a new Advantage Fiber services program aimed at identifying business site opportunities that are in close proximity of its fiber network.
As part of a regional database, CSBS will match its 7,000 route miles of fiber network infrastructure with nearby business and office parks, industrial sites and other locations that are are candidates for expansion or relocation by companies.
One of the initial areas to receive fiber-ready status under the program is Mississippi’s DeSoto County, one of the state’s fastest growing areas.
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CSBS rolled out its new Advantage Fiber program for the county and other parts of the state at the recent annual meeting of the DeSoto County Economic Development Council (EDC).
C Spire has already built out its fiber in DeSoto County near existing buildings totaling over 303,000 square feet and industrial and other development sites covering 2,230 acres in the cities of Hernando, Horn Lake, Olive Branch, Southaven and Walls. The company also has similar infrastructure near dozens of buildings and sites in nine other counties.
Today, CSBS offers small businesses a fiber-based high-speed 100 Mbps internet access service for downloads and uploads in 40 markets. Eligible customers that take part in CSBS’ Advantage Fiber program will get dedicated, high speed connections up to 10 Gbps, enabling access to cloud applications, data analytics, and streaming video.
Jim Flanagan, executive director of the DeSoto County EDC, said in a release that the “Advantage Fiber program will help community leaders and economic developers more effectively market business, office parks and industrial sites for site selection by emphasizing the availability of high-speed, fiber-based services in selected cities and towns.”
Businesses that considering expansion or relocation often will assess what telecom infrastructure will be available in a specific town or city.
At the same time, programs like Advantage Fiber can also create awareness where and if a particular community already has fiber-based network infrastructure.
But deploying fiber is just one part of C Spire’s business services drive. The service provider opened a Tier III+ data center in Starkville, Mississippi, in November 2015, which meets SOC, HIPAA and PCI requirements and uses premium providers on all critical systems.