AT&T Announces Additional $53M Mississippi Investment

AT&T announced an additional $53 million investment for its broadband expansion in Mississippi according to reports. The AT&T project will provide additional 170 new sites in over 60 wire centers. The expansion will enable new broadband access to more than 30,000 households in the state of Mississipi. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, about one-third of Mississippi adults living in households are using wireless technology for their communications and it increases continuously.

Revisions in the Federal Communications Commission‘s (FCC) Universal Service Fund pave the way to the AT&T broadband expansion. The FCC now allows companies receiving universal service fund dollars to be able to spend those funds on broadband equipment.

Mayo Flyn, President of AT&T Mississippi said that “In the 21st century, the goal is to deliver broadband and mobility to all parts of the country. And the challenge is to use efficient market-based incentives and policy reforms, not the same old investment-sapping mandates that no longer fit. The updated federal policy recently adopted by the FCC is more suited to today’s highly-competitive market and will allow AT&T to bring broadband to areas previously unserved and allow us to provide customers in rural Mississippi what they really want.”

Mississipi Governor Phil Bryant welcomed the recent development. He explained that enabling “broadband access to more people will help create jobs and grow our economy.” Bryant adds that the AT&T expansion is “an important step in showing the world that Mississippi is open for business.”