The Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi ( BEAM ) recently approved 12 broadband infrastructure projects worth$ 32.5 million that will be funded by the Capital Projects Fund ( CPF).
Governor Tate Reeves stated that” Mississippi continues to make remarkable progress when it expands broadband across the state.” These twelve initiatives may go a long way toward ensuring Mississippians have the bandwidth exposure they require.
Approved venture locations by region:
- Amite County – Swyft Fiber
- Calhoun County – Bruce Telephone Company
- Covington County – Swyft Fiber
- Hinds County – CSpire
- Jasper County – TEC
- Lamar County – CSpire
- Lawrence County – TEC
- Leake County – TEC
- Panola County – TVI Fiber
- Pontotoc County – We Connect Communications
- Scott County – TEC
- Tate County – CSpire
- Tate County – TVI Fiber
To create online services for nearly 9, 000 households in portions of 12 state-wide counties, these 12 CPF projects will award$ 32.5 million in grant money. Frame approved 37 additional Pension projects worth$ 100 million last year to provide food to approximately 42, 000 state residents.
Moreover, BEAM has made$ 878, 000 in prizes in a smaller Pension type for public wi-fi jobs. These funds were applied for by and awarded to internet providers to build wifi in public places ( downtowns, parks, volunteer fire stations, etc. ) for people to use for school, telemedicine, or similar uses.
All tasks funded by CPF must be finished by December 31, 2026, according to plan recommendations from the US Department of Treasury.
The BEAM business just administers the$ 162 million in CPF funding that Mississippi has received as one of its broadband investments. BEAM is currently overseeing the$ 32 million Broadband Infrastructure Program ( BIP ) projects ( 14 projects in 10 counties ) that are all nearing completion. BEAM is also working on the requirements to obtain$ 1.2 billion in funding from the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment ( BEAD ) grant, as well as overseeing the$ 10.5 million State Digital Skills and Accessibility grant, both from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.