MaxxSouth installs free Wi-Fi in Amory
AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – Whether you’re a resident or just passing through town, free Wi-Fi is now available in Amory.
“I think it’s great for the community, I think it gives a great opportunity for our kids and our young people inside the community to be able to connect. You know the world runs on the internet now. It’s everywhere,” said Amory Mayor Zackary McGonagill.
MaxxSouth Broadband installed public Wi-Fi in four locations around the city, including Frisco Park and an area near the hospital.
City, state, and company leaders celebrated the new connections with a ribbon-cutting on Wednesday, May 13.
“Everyone can’t always afford internet prices, so being able to make sure that young students can do their homework assignment, that you can apply for a job interview, or just be connected to the world, know what’s going on, that’s important,” said House District 22 representative Justin Crosby.
Amory is the eighth community Maxx South has connected through this program.
Starkville was the first in September.
“We are on a mission to get public Wi-Fi across our footprint in northeast Mississippi, and so part of that initiative is talking with our partners, our communities, and making sure we go community to community and set up where they feel that the community is most advantageous,” said HeidiJoy Harnegie, MaxxSouth general manager and vice president.
The project is funded by BEAM, the office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi.
BEAM awarded Maxx South $106,000 of federal funds for the w-fi installation — with MaxxSouth matching some of the funds as well.
Amory native and BEAM communications coordinator Ashley Johnson-Burt says the impact will be great for her hometown.
“As somebody who has grown up here, worked here for many years, before moving away, I would have loved the opportunity to pull at the hospital on my lunch break from work at the KFC to do my term papers for college or high school, now students have that opportunity”
And when you’re in the area, you can find the Wi-Fi listed as “Public WiFi by MaxxSouth” on your device.
“Once you’ve connected, every time you return to that location, your device is going to switch over to that network, and so we always want to future proof things and say how do we make this easier for folks,” said Johnson-Burt.
Since the Fall, 40,000 people across Northeast Mississippi have been connected through MaxxSouth.
Maxx South plans to install wi-fi in four more communities this year.
They will be in Aberdeen next month.
