Consumers and businesses in parts of C Spire’s wireless service area in East Mississippi are experiencing faster speeds and better connections with the completion of a 10-month project.

The multi-million-dollar project, which started in February and is nearly complete, targeted 64 cell sites in nine East Mississippi counties and 252 cell sites in 41 counties statewide for the enhancements, according to a news release.

The program is part of the C Spire’s efforts to strengthen its core network and prepare for the next generation of cellular technology.

The project comes after a separate effort to install new base stations and software at all of its 1,200-plus cell sites that will serve as the foundation for C Spire’s transition to 5G.

Much of the work in East Mississippi has improved the performance of 64 cell sites, including:

Nine Lauderdale County sites where mid-band spectrum carrier additions have increased capacity by 50 percent and improved data speeds in Meridian.

Six Choctaw County sites where doubling low-band spectrum and increasing mid-band spectrum resulted in speed and capacity improvements, particularly in Mathiston and Ackerman.

Twelve Winston County sites where doubling low-band spectrum and adding 15 MHz of mid-band spectrum have dramatically improved peak data speeds across the county.

Two Smith County cell sites where adding 50 percent more mid-band spectrum capacity has improved data speeds in Taylorsville and New Haven.

Six Clay County sites where low-band spectrum capacity was doubled or tripled and a 50 percent increase in mid-spectrum bandwidth, resulting in capacity and speed improvements, particularly in the community of Griffith.

14 Lowndes County cell sites where doubling low-band spectrum and increasing mid-band spectrum by 50 percent has improved capacity and speeds, particularly data speeds in Columbus.

Four Noxubee County sites where doubling low-band spectrum and using mid-band spectrum for capacity offload will improve overall capacity and speed, particularly in Macon, which has five times more bandwidth and a data speed boost.

Six Oktibbeha County sites where doubling low-band spectrum and boosting mid-band spectrum by 50 percent have improved overall capacity and speeds in the area.

Five Webster County sites where doubling low-band spectrum and boosting mid-band spectrum by 50 percent have improved overall capacity and speeds in the area.