Video: Guntown Among Four Cities in NE Mississippi To Get Broadband Internet Service

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GUNTOWN, MISS. (WCBI) – Faster internet service will soon be available for more than 2 thousand customers throughout North Mississippi.  It’s part of a government initiative to get broadband service to rural areas.  WCBI’s Allie Martin has more on the multi year plan.

In January,  Chad McMahan becomes the new district six state senator, but until then,  he’s still serving as a Guntown alderman and spends a lot of time at city hall.  He says faster internet service for the area is long overdue.

“This is going to be a fantastic service and Guntown, like some other rural areas , although we’re not really rural, we are still rural when it comes to a lot of different utilities,”McMahan said.

McMahan and other elected officials, joined Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley as he announced a broadband internet service plan.

“Folks who live in small towns deserve the same level of service as the governor living in the governor’s mansion in downtown Jackson,” Presley said.

The politicians say broadband service can also be a tool to recruit new business and commercial development.

Frontier Communications will spend four million dollars to make broadband service available to 25 hundred commercial and residential customers.

If you have a landline or a cell phone, every month, you’re paying into something called the “Connect America Fund.”  The federal dollars help companies like Frontier take broadband service to rural areas.

“It’s very expensive to expand out to the rural markets and we are so happy to accept these funds, from the federal government and it’s actually a challenge for us,” said Mike Byrd, of Frontier Communications.

Frontier says rates will be reasonable. Right now, a 10 meg internet plan costs 40 dollars.

Frontier Communications say construction on the broadband lines should start in about a year.