MEGAPOP was founded in 2002 to promote broadband services in rural North Mississippi. MEGAPOP's mission is to enhance economic development and improve the quality of life for the residents of North Mississippi through the delivery of enhanced broadband services.

In 2005, MEGAPOP in partnership with Telepak Networks, Inc. (now C-Spire Fiber) lit a fiber ring that currently serves two-thirds of the state of Mississippi.

Since the initial lighting, MEGAPOP and C-Spire have expanded the network, adding new rings with additional access throughout North Mississippi. Fiber to the Home is now available throughout North Mississippi via a unique combination of provisioning through rural cooperatives and traditional telecommunications carriers..

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GOALS & objectives

  • Improve public understanding of the benefits of broadband access

  • Create greater demand for telecommunication services through education

  • Improve long-term economic viability of North Mississippi.

  • Utilize broadband services for workforce development

  • Maintain availability of ultra high-speed Internet access at affordable rates.

  • Encourage competitions among providers.

  • Continue building ultra high-speed broadband services.

since megapop and c spire started

  • In 2019, the Mississippi Legislature passed the Mississippi Broadband Enabling Act, allowing rural electrical cooperatives to provide broadband services, including Fiber To The Home (FTTH) through subsidiaries, vastly increasing access to underserved rural ares to high-speed services. Leveraging the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (“RDOF”) more than 500 Million Dollars has been invested by fifteen electrical coops in North Mississippi, building over 16,000 miles of fiber passing more than 200,000 rural homes and businesses.

  • C Spire is now a regional provider and has increased access to fiber infrastructure with much higher capacity. Over 16,000 miles of fiber have been built since MEGAPOP and C-Spire lit the initial 800 mile ring in Northeast Mississippi in 2005. With the support of CREATE, ARC, TVA and many local governmental officials the initial ring had POPs located in Memphis, Holly Springs, Oxford, Tupelo, West Point, Columbus, Starkville, and Philadelphia. In 2009 additional POP’s were added in Booneville, Corinth, Ripley, New Albany, and Pontotoc. Additional POP’s are in the works.

  • North Mississippi now has access from nine (and growing) 10 Gigabit diverse internet connections from Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago.

  • Increased competition has shown a significant reduction in wholesale costs allowing for reduced retail prices.

  • Increased access to diverse ultra-high speed fiber optic broadband services has helped spur economic development allowing for the creation of four 1000 acre Industrial Mega Sites approved by TVA which now house Toyota at Blue Springs, Steel Dynamics and Paccar at Columbus, and Yokohama at West Point. Many other Industrial Parks in North Mississippi now have a choice of fiber providers.

  • Cell coverage in North Mississippi has increased with much higher capacity and delivery speeds.

  • Policy makers now consider broadband infrastructure as basic infrastructure on a par with highways and electrical and water supply.

  • Public awareness of the long term benefits has significantly grown. Broadband is enhancing education, healthcare, government and workforce development interests.

 
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Contact Us

P.O. Box 905, Tupelo, MS 38802
morgan@morganbaldwin.com