C Spire
 | This article contains promotional content. (October 2010) |
| File:C Spire Wireless.png | |
| C Spire Wireless | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Wireless voice and data services |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Founder | Wade H. Creekmore, Jr. and James H. "Jimmy" Creekmore, Sr. |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 85 stores |
Area served | Memphis metropolitan area Mississippi Alabama Florida Panhandle Rome, Georgia |
Key people | Hu Meena – President Kevin Hankins – Chief Operating Officer |
| Products | SMS (text messaging), MMS (picture messaging), BREW, Push-to-talk, Mobile banking, Email, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Android, Netbook, iPhone |
| Services | CDMA2000 1xRTT EV-DO LTE |
| Parent | Telapex, Inc. |
| Website | www.cspire.com |
Cellular South Inc. d.b.a. C Spire Wireless[1] headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi, is the eighth largest wireless provider in the United States.[2] C Spire has approximately 900,000 customers in Mississippi, the Memphis Metropolitan Area, the Florida Panhandle, parts of Alabama including Mobile, and Rome, Georgia.[3] The company also holds 700 MHz and AWS licenses covering most of Tennessee and Alabama, though it has not yet extended service to these areas. On September 20, 2011 Cellular South, Inc. filed a trademark application for the C Spire Wireless name and two days later announced that it would market its services under the C Spire Wireless brand effective September 26.[4] C Spire Wireless is owned by the holding company Telapex, Inc.,[5] which also owns Telepak Networks, Inc., a provider of broadband internet and phone service, as well as several smaller Mississippi telecoms.
History
Cellular South, Inc. began its wireless service on the Mississippi Gulf Coast on February 4, 1988, using AMPS technology.
Growth
Since 1999, C Spire has invested more than US$700 million in its wireless network, including constructing 1,403 cell sites, a high-speed wireless broadband network and a permanent microwave ring for redundancy across the Gulf Coast region.[6] In 2009, the company purchased Alabama-based Corr Wireless, which expanded its coverage in Alabama and moved it into Georgia for the first time. As of 2006 the company began advertising "its nationwide wireless voice and data network," and on August 17, 2006 opened its first sales center located outside of its native network footprint.[7]
The company announced on September 22, 2011 it planned on rebranding to C Spire Wireless effective on September 26.
Products and services
On October 19, 2011, C Spire announced plans to sell Apple's iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S on its website. Both models were made available for purchase November 11, 2011.[8]
C Spire's LTE service officially launched in Mississippi in September 2012.
C Spire released the iPhone 5 on September 28, 2012. However, C Spire was unable to implement 4G LTE service with the device until the release of iOS 6.1 on January 28, 2013. Other devices in the line-up were already compatible with 4G LTE.
Community involvement
Cellular South sponsors the Cellular South Foundation.
Cellular South also holds corporate sponsorships for:
- The Cellular South Cup professional tennis tournament in Memphis
- The University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, University of Southern Mississippi and University of Memphis athletic programs
- The Memphis Redbirds and Mississippi Braves minor league baseball teams
- The Mississippi RiverKings hockey team
- The Conerly Trophy award to Mississippi's best 4-year college football player
References
- ^ "Fictitious Business Name Registration" (PDF). Business.sos.state.ms.us. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Mike Dano (2010-11-15). "Cellular South: We won't participate in Verizon's rural LTE licensing program". FierceWireless. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
- ^ "Trademark information for C SPIRE WIRELESS from USPTO - by Markify". Trademark.markify.com. 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
- ^ "Telapex, Inc". Telapex.com. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
- ^ "View Article". Technologyalliance.ms. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "C Spire snags contract with Apple to offer iPhone 4S - Memphis Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2012-10-25.