Mbj sept27 2013

INSIDE — Feds withholding Miss. market exchange health insurance rates until Oct. 1

www.msbusiness.com

September 27, 2013 • Vol. 35, No. 39 • $1 • 20 pages

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

McPhail makes it happen

C SPIRE’S FAST FIBER

The past five years of economic downturn haven’t been kind to many industries. That cold, hard fact hasn’t stopped Jonathan McPhail from pursuing his dreams.

‘Slow Internet is a thing of the past’

More newsmakers, P 16

Inside {P 2} » Public-private partnership driving today’s retail development The List {P 15} » Employment Agencies Strictly Biz {P 19} » Facebook privacy

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services company’s ultra high-speed Internet access will be marketed as C Spire Fiber to the Home. “We know that unlocking the potential of nextgeneration technology for the communities we serve requires taking optical fiber all the way to their door,” said Meena. “As a brand that’s been pushing the envelope of in-

hile there are still many questions to be answered regarding this week’s announcement from C Spire that it is going to offer home Internet service about 100 times faster than the industry norm, the fact is the Ridgeland-based company keeps pushing the envelope in regard to business and technology. For that, Mississippians should be proud. It is exciting for one of our biggest and most Ross Reily successful companies to be known as forward thinking. “Slow Internet is a thing of the past, C Spire brand product manager Jared Baumann said during the press conference at C Spire’s world headquarters in Ridgeland. Just think, Mississippi is going to go from a state known for one of the lowest percentages of households with internet access to the state with the fastest Internet in the nation. Educational opportunities will be better. Health care opportunities will be better. Municipal services will be better. Business and job growth will be better. The fiber, of which much has already been

See INTERNET, Page 4

See REILY, Page 4

In this photograph released by C Spire Wireless, Jared Baumann, brand product manager at C Spire, demonstrates the speed of ultrahigh Internet access during a news conference Tuesday at C Spire headquarters in Ridgeland.

Internet service to be 100 times faster than industry average BY FRANK BROWN frank.brown@msbusiness.com

FOCUS {P 10} » Rainbow Foods owners say they offer something different from Whole Foods

An initiative by Ridgeland-based C Spire proposes to give homes in Mississippi the opportunity to have internet speeds of up to one gigabit per second — about 100 times the average speed, CEO Hu Meena said Tuesday during a press conference at the C Spire headquarters. The regional telecommunications and technology

MBJ FOCUS: Small Business

Miss. agencies see more professional, clerical type jobs available Page 9