Governor Tate Reeves announced today that the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) has approved nine broadband expansion projects funded by the Capital Projects Fund (CPF). The projects will allocate $21.6 million in grant funding to extend internet service to approximately 12,300 households across the state.

“Expanding broadband access is an important infrastructure initiative in Mississippi,” said Governor Reeves. “These projects are part of ongoing efforts to improve connectivity statewide.”

The approved projects, organized by provider, include:

• ACE Fiber: Blue Springs/SE Union County; Blue Mountain to New Albany; Potts Camp to Myrtle
• AT&T: Leake County (Sebastopol/Conway/Bertice areas); Marshall County (Mahon/Waites/Laws Hill areas)
• CSpire: Southwest MS (Columbia/Summit/Osyka/Liberty/Gloster); Central MS (Puckett/Magee/Mendenhall/Madison)
• Comcast: Statewide Line Extension (Jackson area/Laurel/Hattiesburg areas)
• TVEPA: NE Yalobusha County/Water Valley

This announcement follows the June allocation of $70.1 million for 24 other CPF projects, which are expected to serve approximately 27,000 households. In total, Mississippi was allocated $162 million through CPF.

The $162 million in CPF funding is one of several broadband investments managed by BEAM. The office is also overseeing $32 million in Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) projects in 10 counties, which are expected to be completed this year. Additionally, BEAM is preparing to administer $1.2 billion in funding through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant and manage the $10.7 million State Digital Skills and Accessibility grant.

Mississippi residents can access a broadband map at www.broadbandms.com to view available services and locations with federal funding for service expansion. BEAM can be contacted at 601-359-5029 or info@beam.ms.gov for more information.