Thirty cities responded to C Spire’s request for...

“more than one” community to get a fiber network, he said. In that announcement, C Spire said it will divulge prices for its gigabit service, digital TV and phone in addition to discounts and package pricing. Interactive maps will also be available to residents to see where the fiber is coming in their neighborhoods and to start the pre-registration process, he said. In addition to the RFI, communities were also required to demonstrate resident interests in these speeds through special events, celebrations and websites, said the spokesman. Ridgeland community development representatives met with representatives from the school district, the homeowners association and Chamber of Commerce to get the word out, said Bryan Johnson, who works for the city department. “We met with anyone who showed an interest in getting fiber first,” said Johnson. “Getting fiber is good for our schools and for our businesses to have a faster Internet service.” DeSoto County decided to combine its efforts with its five municipalities and one unincorporated town to get a fiber network in at least one of its jurisdictions, said John Mitchell, the county’s information technology director. “We made it a competition in our communities to see who gets the fiber, and we submitted our RFIs together,” Mitchell said. “It’s ultimately better for the county if someone here gets it.” Clinton, Miss., already has some of the fiber infrastructure in place for a gigabit network, which made it more important for the city to entice its residents to support it, said a Clinton spokesman. Clinton has a one-to-one initiative in its schools to give a digital device to every student, and Mississippi College is located in the town, he said. “The number of devices in our community drains the bandwidth and getting more fiber will open it up because we wouldn’t have these kinds of restrictions,” he said. “This is important to build and grow businesses, and to encourage innovation.”