The board of supervisors of Madison County, MS, approved a franchise agreement with C Spire for the telco to deploy FTTH-based gigabit Internet service in the county. Two of the county’s largest cities - Ridgeland and Madison - already are part of the program, which offers up to 1 Gbps Internet access and related Super HD TV and home phone services.

In addition to Ridgeland, late last year C Spire activated gigabit service in two other Mississippi towns, Starkville and Quitman. Following the Google Fiber "fiberhood" model in which areas have to qualify by pre-registrations for gigabit service, the telco also has agreements in place with the state capital, Jackson, as well as Batesville, Clinton, Corinth, Hattiesburg, Horn Lake and McComb.