C Spire, which added fiber to the premises (FTTP) broadband services to its core mobile offerings in Mississippi (see “C Spire names Get Fiber First finalists for 1-Gbps FTTH”), has announced plans to expand its FTTP activities into Alabama. The initiative will start with Jasper, in northwest Alabama, in 2020 and extend to metropolitan Birmingham, Shelby County, and “other parts of Alabama,” in the words of a C Spire press release.
The company has reached a partnership with Alabama Power to leverage the utility’s fiber infrastructure to speed the FTTP roll out. Alabama Power does not provide broadband services directly to customers at this time.
"Today is a big day in the life of our company," said C Spire CEO Hu Meena. "While we've had a presence in southern Alabama (Mobile) for decades and our Alabama headquarters are here in the Birmingham area, we plan to make our all-fiber broadband services available to homes and businesses across the state next year."
As has been in the case in Mississippi, C Spire will prioritize deployments to areas where residents indicate the strongest interest in signing up. "The communities that want this game-changing infrastructure and services the most will get it first," Meena said.
C Spire indicates it will offer gigabit broadband services to potential customers in Alabama, including in rural areas. To this end, the company has joined the Alabama Rural Broadband Coalition.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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