C Spire

{{Infobox company

| name = C Spire

| logo = Cspire-logo.png

| image = EDIT Front.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| image_caption = C Spire's corporate headquarters in Ridgeland, Mississippi

| trade_name = C Spire

| type = Subsidiary

| founder = Wade H. Creekmore Jr. and James H. "Jimmy" Creekmore Sr.

| area_served = *Wireless: Mississippi and parts of Alabama and Tennessee

Home fiber: Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee
Business: nationwide in the U.S.

| key_people = Suzy Hays (president and CEO)

| industry = Telecommunications

| products = Wireless voice and data, fiber to the home, cloud services, managed IT services

| parent = Telapex, Inc.

| foundation = {{start date and age|1988}}

| location_city = Ridgeland, Mississippi

| location_country = U.S.

| location =

| locations = 72 stores, 2 call centers, 4 data centers, 6 sales offices

| homepage = {{url|cspire.com}}

}}

C Spire, formerly known as Cellular South, Inc.,{{cite web|url=https://business.sos.state.ms.us/imaging/33665132.pdf|title=Fictitious Business Name Registration|publisher=Business.sos.state.ms.us|access-date=October 24, 2012}}{{dead link|date=July 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} is an American privately owned telecommunications and technology company headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi. The company consists of three business divisions – Wireless, Home Fiber, and Business.

C Spire owns and has access to low, mid and high-band wireless spectrum in its primary service areas. The division offers 5G and 4G LTE mobile services and has been offering wireless services since 1988. C Spire provides service in Mississippi, the Memphis Metropolitan Area, and parts of Alabama including Mobile and Baldwin County. C Spire sells devices as well as prepaid and postpaid plans.

C Spire Home Fiber, began Gigabit speed Fiber to the Home efforts in 2013, providing gigabit and multi-gigabit residential fiber internet access for consumers in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.{{Cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/c-spire-plans-gigabit-fiber-to-the-home|title=C Spire prepping gigabit 'Fiber to the Home' service, asks where to put it|date=September 24, 2013 }} C Spire operates over 20,000 route miles of buried fiber optic cable.

C Spire Business offers fiber-backed broadband, telephony and IT services.

C Spire is owned by the holding company Telapex, Inc.,{{cite web|url=http://www.telapex.com/about.html|title=Telapex, Inc|publisher=Telapex.com|access-date=October 25, 2012}} which also owns Telepak Networks, Inc., and several smaller Mississippi and Alabama telecoms.

Growth and recognition

In 2006 the firm opened its first sales center outside of its native network footprint.{{cite web|url=https://www.mvnodynamics.com/2011/10/21/c-spire-to-offer-iphone/|title=C Spire to offer iPhone|last=dynamics|first=MVNO|date=October 21, 2011|website=MVNO Dynamics|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222225415/https://www.mvnodynamics.com/2011/10/21/c-spire-to-offer-iphone/|archive-date=December 22, 2016|access-date=December 22, 2016}} In 2009, the company purchased Alabama-based Corr Wireless, which expanded its coverage in Alabama and moved it into Georgia for the first time (in 2013 Corr Wireless was subsequently sold to AT&T{{cite web|url=http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/att-buys-spectrum-21000-customers-c-spires-corr-subsidiary/2013-04-05|title=AT&T to buy spectrum, 21,000 customers from C Spire's Corr subsidiary|date=April 5, 2013|publisher=FierceWireless|access-date=August 7, 2015}}).

The company's wireless division announced on September 22, 2011, that it planned on rebranding from Cellular South to C Spire Wireless to be put into effect on September 26 of that year.{{Cite web |title=CELLULAR SOUTH CHANGES NAME TO C SPIRE WIRELESS {{!}} C Spire Wireless |url=https://www.cspire.com/cms/news/wireless/9400004/CELLULAR%20SOUTH%20CHANGES%20NAME%20TO%20C%20SPIRE%20WIRELESS |access-date=July 9, 2024 |website=www.cspire.com}} In 2013, C Spire announced it was purchasing Mobile, Alabama based Callis Communications, a provider of unified cloud services for businesses. In 2014, the company activated Mississippi's first residential 1 Gbps Fiber to the Home customer in Quitman, Mississippi.

In 2018, the company purchased Teklinks, based in Birmingham, Alabama, to expand their footprint in the commercial and enterprise business, as well as their geographical footprint in the southeast.{{Cite web|url=https://www.channele2e.com/news/c-spire-acquires-teklinks-for-managed-cloud-services/|title=C Spire Acquires TekLinks for Managed Cloud Business Services|date=June 26, 2018}}

In Oct. 2019, C Spire launched C Spire Health,{{Cite web |title=C Spire Health |url=https://blog.cspire.com/corporate/skip-the-waiting-room-with-the-new-c-spire-heath-app}} a mobile app to provide health care for people in Mississippi, especially those in rural and under served areas, with minor ailments.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/c-spire-university-of-mississippi-medical-center-debut-new-mobile-health-app-300941656.html|title=C Spire, University of Mississippi Medical Center debut new mobile health app}}

C Spire announced a partnership{{Cite web|url=https://www.al.com/news/2019/12/electric-utilities-bring-more-ultra-fast-internet-to-alabama.html|title = New partnerships bringing ultra-fast internet to Alabama|date = December 4, 2019}} with Alabama Power on December 5, 2019, to bring Gigabit speed (1000 Mbit/s) internet services to the Birmingham area, as well as Shelby County and other parts of Alabama, in 2020. C Spire became a member of the Alabama Rural Broadband Coalition (ARBC), which is focused on rural broadband expansion. As part of the ARBC, C Spire helped expand rural broadband access to Jasper, Alabama,{{Cite web|url=https://alabamanewscenter.com/2019/11/21/alabama-rural-broadband-coalition-c-spire-announce-expansion-in-jasper/|title = Alabama Rural Broadband Coalition, C Spire announce expansion in Jasper|date = November 21, 2019}}{{Cite web |title=C Spire Celebrates Availability of Ultra-fast Fiber Internet in Jasper, Alabama {{!}} C Spire Wireless |url=https://www.cspire.com/cms/news/wireless/35400003/C%20Spire%20Celebrates%20Availability%20of%20Ultra-fast%20Fiber%20Internet%20in%20Jasper,%20Alabama/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=www.cspire.com}} in 2020.

In January 2021, the company announced it would be investing US$1 billion over three years to deploy broadband internet to serve more than 200,000 homes and businesses in Mississippi and Alabama and support the expansion of 5G access.{{Cite web |date=February 2021 |title=C Spire to invest $1 billion in 5G, fiber broadband in Alabama, Mississippi |url=https://www.rcrwireless.com/20210201/5g/c-spire-to-invest-1-billion-in-5g-fiber-broadband-in-alabama-mississippi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201185619/https://www.rcrwireless.com/20210201/5g/c-spire-to-invest-1-billion-in-5g-fiber-broadband-in-alabama-mississippi |archive-date=February 1, 2021}}

In July 2021, C Spire completed the acquisition of Harbor Communications. With this acquisition, the company is providing fiber-based broadband internet access and related services to several cities and towns in Mobile and Baldwin counties on Alabama's Gulf Coast.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lightreading.com/opticalip/c-spire-wraps-integration-of-harbor-communications-/d/d-id/770642|title = C Spire wraps integration of Harbor Communications}}

In October 2021, C Spire announced it will acquire Alabama-based telecommunications provider Troy Cablevision in a deal subject to regulatory approval. Troy Cablevision was founded in 1985 and offers cable, internet and other services to businesses and residents in Pike, Coffee, Crenshaw and Dale counties. It has offices in Troy, Elba, Enterprise, Luverne and Ozark.{{Cite web|title=Mississippi-based C Spire buys Troy Cablevision|url=https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2021/10/20/mississippi-based-c-spire-buys-troy-cablevision/6104635001/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020181910/https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2021/10/20/mississippi-based-c-spire-buys-troy-cablevision/6104635001/ |archive-date=October 20, 2021 }} The Troy Cable brand was changed to C Spire in 2022.

History

Cellular South, Inc. began its wireless service on the Mississippi Gulf Coast on February 4, 1988, using AMPS technology. Former football quarterback Archie Manning made the company's inaugural call from Gulfport, Mississippi to then U.S. Representative Trent Lott in Washington, D.C.[http://www.cellularsouth.com/aboutus/History-Timeline.html History/Timeline] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225164155/http://www.cellularsouth.com/aboutus/History-Timeline.html |date=December 25, 2010 }}

In 2011, C Spire became the fourth wireless carrier in the U.S., behind AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, to be able to sell the iPhone.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/11/03/tech/mobile/c-spire-iphone/index.html|title = How the 8th-largest cell carrier beat T-Mobile to the iPhone | CNN Business| website=CNN |date = November 4, 2011}}

In 2013, C Spire created Vu Digital, LLC as a wholly owned subsidiary.{{cite news|last=McDill |first=Stephen |date=August 2, 2013 |title=Ridgeland-based Vu Digital gives media content, websites a personal touch |url=http://msbusiness.com/2013/08/ridgeland-based-vu-digital-gives-media-content-websites-a-personal-touch/ |newspaper=Mississippi Business Journal |access-date=November 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118055038/http://msbusiness.com/2013/08/ridgeland-based-vu-digital-gives-media-content-websites-a-personal-touch/ |archive-date=November 18, 2015 |url-status=dead }} The name "Vu" is pronounced "view" and is inspired by the phrase "your view of things". Vu is used as a web content aggregator with heuristics, allowing it to improve its aggregation selections based on user preferences. Its initial product was "a cloud-based digital profiling and analytics system" that provided "web personalization". Digital announced Video-To-Data analysis and metadata tagging in May 2015.{{cite news|last=Ha |first=Anthony |date=May 4, 2015 |title=Vu Digital Translates Videos Into Structured Data |url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/04/video-to-data/ |publisher=TechCrunch |access-date=November 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117061716/http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/04/video-to-data/ |archive-date=November 17, 2015 |url-status=dead }} Vu Video-to-Data (V2D) translates video images and audio to text, affording video producers the ability to tag their content with metadata making it more searchable.{{cite news|last=Chandler |first=Clay |date=May 7, 2015 |title=Video-to-data technology will be 'transformative' |url=http://www.clarionledger.com/story/money/business/2015/05/07/video-data-technology-will-transformative/70977508/ |newspaper=The Clarion-Ledger |access-date=February 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527171853/https://www.webcitation.org/6ezNnR987?url=http://www.clarionledger.com/story/money/business/2015/05/07/video-data-technology-will-transformative/70977508/ |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|last=Winslow |first=George |date=May 5, 2015 |title=Vu Digital Launches V2D |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/technology/vu-digital-launches-v2d/140578 |newspaper=Broadcasting & Cable |access-date=November 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118055025/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/technology/vu-digital-launches-v2d/140578 |archive-date=November 18, 2015 |url-status=dead }}

Network

= Radio frequency summary =

The following is a list of known LTE and NR frequency bands which C Spire employs. 2G/3G CDMA was discontinued in 2022.{{Cite web|last=Spire|first=C.|title=Upgrade Alert: 3G Network to Shut Down in 2022|date=October 11, 2021|url=http://blog.cspire.com/corporate/upgrade-alert-3g-network-to-shut-down-in-2022|access-date=September 4, 2022|website=blog.cspire.com|language=en}}

class="wikitable sortable"

!Frequency range

!Band

number

!Protocol

!Generation

!Status

!Notes

700 MHz Lower

A/B/C Blocks

|12

| rowspan="4" |LTE/LTE-A

| rowspan="4" |4G

| rowspan="4" |Active

| rowspan="2" |Primary LTE coverage bands.

850 MHz CLR

1.7/2.1 GHz AWS

| rowspan="2" |Additional LTE bands for capacity.

1.9 GHz PCS

600 MHz DD

|n71

| rowspan="6" |NR

| rowspan="6" |5G

| rowspan="4" |Active/Building Out

| rowspan="2" |Primary 5G coverage bands.

700 MHz Lower

A/B/C Blocks

|n12

1.9 GHz PCS

|n2

|Additional 5G band for capacity.

2.5 GHz BRS/EBS

|n41

|Primary mid-band frequency.

3.7 GHz C-Band

|n77

|Pending deployment

|Spectrum will be available for use starting in December 2023.{{Cite web|last1=Dano|first1=News Analysis Mike|last2=Director|first2=Editorial|last3=5G|last4=Strategies February 24, 2021|first4=Mobile|title=Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile: Here are the C-band auction results|url=https://www.lightreading.com/5g/verizon-atandt-t-mobile-here-are-c-band-auction-results-/d/d-id/767661|access-date=February 25, 2021|website=Light Reading|language=en}}

28 GHz mmWave

|n261

|Active/Building Out

|Primary mmWave frequency. Only available in select areas.

References

Category:Madison County, Mississippi

Category:Companies based in Mississippi

Category:Economy of the Southeastern United States

Category:Mobile phone companies of the United States

Category:Telecommunications companies of the United States

Category:Companies established in 1988