Thanks, C Spire – for Leading Mississippi Schools to Tech’s Fast Lane

If you have been following business and personal technology in recent years, you’ve seen a quantum leap forward. Unfortunately, education is not moving ahead as quickly. Technology can help, though, and C Spire is setting a good example, propelling Mississippi schools forward.

C Spire is helping schools and entire cities create a quantum leap of their own. The plan is to help students prepare for the future. A highly skilled workforce will attract companies, which will then help the state to grow.

This is a plan that every other state should learn from. It is key for growth not only in Mississippi, but also in every other state across the U.S.

Ripe for Reinvention

Hu Meena is the CEO of C Spire, which is a privately held, diversified wireless, telecommunications and technology-services company based in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Meena seems to be one of a few CEOs who is trying to improve his state — at the core — through communications technology.

Meena sees the rapid growth of technology and business and understands that improving education will improve citizen skills. That will attract companies. That will attract other citizens — and all that will help Mississippi grow going forward.

That’s why he has taken a leadership position bringing new networks, products and services to the marketplace that will help his state do just that — grow.

This is a lesson every state in the United States can and should learn. Every state will compete with other states for the best people and workers. Going forward, that is what competition will look like.

This is the time for every state to reinvent itself and attract both citizens and companies. Going forward, states and cities that can do so will be healthy and growing.

This is a new and incredible growth opportunity, which every city and every state must embrace. Leadership tomorrow starts today.

Meena sees the future as a place where wireless, wire line and Internet all work together to bring new growth opportunities. Meena is not only helping Mississippi, but also growing C Spire in a variety of new areas.

The Ultra-High Speed Race

A few short years ago, C Spire was only wireless, but now it is expanding into the wire line world as well, with ultra-high speed Internet and new services like home automation and security. Services like TV and more could be next.

The Internet will bring all sorts of new services and opportunities. While every city in America may have Internet access, only a very few have ultra-high speed Internet service.

We are at the cusp of a brand new communications revolution. Ultra-high speed Internet will transform not only the companies that offer it, but also the cities and towns where it is offered.

That’s why cities are standing on their heads trying to be first to market with this new technology. They are trying to attract the attention of carriers to be put on the list.

So far, there are only a few companies really embracing ultra-high speed Internet services. C Spire is one of them. Others are AT&T, Google, and to a lesser extent companies like CenturyLink. I do expect to see this market heat up.

Even cable television companies like Comcast offer a version of their television services over the Internet or an IP connection. This follows what the telephone companies are doing with their IPTV services.

The first thing we have to do is get ultra-high speed Internet to every city. That will take years. Then we can bring a second or third provider to each market. That will lower prices as this new technology matures. It will take time, however.

Today, cities are falling all over themselves trying to become the next city to win this ultra-high speed Internet service. They are trying to get on the radar of communications companies in this space.

Magnet Cities

Meena has taken a very forward-looking approach. He wants to give Mississippi the core tools it needs to be a leader in this new space going forward.

That’s why C Spire is rapidly building ultra-high speed Internet service in several key Mississippi cities. This is a very unique and valuable approach for the state. These cities will become like magnets — attracting not only users, but also workers and companies and taxes.

This will attract new users from other states, and it will mean companies will relocate there. That means both companies and citizens will be new taxpayers in these cities and state. That means new revenue for a more vital and growing community.

So, going forward, technology and education are the first steps to a growing and healthy economy and future.

I am happy to see Hu Meena and C Spire lead this charge in Mississippi. I would hope this would be a great example to other states to understand what the world will look like tomorrow and prepare for it today. Each state should have business leaders like this preparing them for the future.