Photo: Board of Supervisors President Mark Gardner comments during Monday’s announcement of full internet connectivity in DeSoto County. (Courtesy photo)
Monday was a big day for broadband connectivity in DeSoto County as county officials celebrated the 100-percent completion of the Broadband Connectivity Project, or BCP.
County officials were joined by Sally Doty, head of the Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) and officials with internet service providers involved in getting all of the county connected.
“It means a lot to a lot of folks in DeSoto County, because there’s been so many unserved areas for forever, and we’ve been able to address that,” said Supervisors Board President Mark Gardner. “It’s a project we’ve been working on for many, many years. So getting it to 100 percent connectivity is a great day.”
Getting DeSoto County to 100-percent connectivity came with a unique public-private partnership with AT&T, Uplink Internet and C Spire to make the county the most connected in the state. Those partnerships came after a process and discussions with providers.
“Part of the vetting process for us was to see the pockets that were unserved, and determine who was the most logical provider for that area,” Gardner said, adding, “I’ve had doctors reach out to me that couldn’t get internet before and said, ‘look, the hospital needs to send me diagnostic information, X rays and MRIs and things like that, to make a make a medical decision.’ So it’s truly, truly a life saving thing.”
From left, supervisors Jessie Medlin and Lee Caldwell, BEAM Office Director Sally Doty, AT&T Mississippi vice president Michael Walker, along with supervisors Mark Gardner and Ray Denison. (Courtesy photo)
Supervisors started to pursue full connectivity about 13 years ago when there were more than 15,000 addresses on the wrong side of the digital divide.
Several petitions to ISP providers and Capitol Hill trips followed, which dropped the number to more than 5,000 addresses five years ago, but providers said the costs were too high to make connections in rural DeSoto County feasible.
The COVID-19 pandemic made people realize the vital need for service and broadband became a priority for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grants, thanks to members of the Congressional representation.
With the ARPA funding, $10 million was allocated toward the Broadband Connectivity Program, a first of its kind in the state. That number was increased to $11.7 million before funding from the BEAM Office totaling $5.7 million on the state side to C Spire and AT&T was added that led the county toward the program completion.
The ISP contracts were signed two years ago and with Monday’s announcement, 100 percent of county residents now have access to at least one broadband provider.
