Infrastructure

The Mississippi Gulf Coast is a transportation nerve center for Mississippi and the Central Gulf Coast region. It’s where rails, airports, highways and ports converge to give South Mississippi a reach north, south, east and west to both domestic and foreign locations.

Water Ports

The Mississippi Gulf Coast is served by two major deepwater ports: Harrison County’s Mississippi State Port at Gulfport and Jackson County’s Port of Pascagoula.  The Port at Gulfport is a bulk, break-bulk and container seaport, encompassing 184 acres and currently under expansion.  It is located just one and a half hours from major shipping lanes and only seven miles south of U.S. Interstate 10.
Other ports located in Harrison County include the Port of Biloxi and ports along the industrial canal in Gulfport, serving companies in the Bernard Bayou Industrial District.  Hancock County is home to Port Bienville. www.portofthefuture.com

Airports

Air travel is pivotal for the rapid transport of both people and products, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast is home to numerous airports and airfields. Located in Harrison County, the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport is served by five commercial airlines and completed an extensive $51 million expansion in February 2008. The expansion included two new gates, an expanded lobby and ticket area, improved roads to and from the terminal, larger baggage claim and security areas and space for two new airlines. A new 40,000 square foot air cargo facility will also allow the import, export and storage of dry and perishable goods.
Other air transportation facilities in the area include Keesler Air Force Base, also in Harrison County; Stennis International Airport and Diamondhead Airport, both in Hancock County; Trent Lott International Airport and Ocean Springs Airport in Jackson County; Picayune Municipal Airport in Pearl River County; and Griffin Memorial Airport in Stone County.

Interstate Highways

The six-county region of the Mississippi Gulf Coast is traversed by two interstates.  Cutting across Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties is the east-west Interstate 10, which links Jacksonville, Fla. to Los Angeles, Calif.  The north-south Interstate 59 crosses through Pearl River County and extends from Lookout Mountain, Ga. to Slidell, La.  Just outside Mississippi, in Alabama, is the north-south Interstate 65, reaching all of the way to Indiana.
The major north-south highway, U.S. 49, connects Gulfport to Hattiesburg, Jackson and beyond.  It runs past the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and directly into the Port of Gulfport.

Railways

Mississippi is served by 17 rail lines, including five Class I carriers. All six counties are crossed by at least one Class I line. The coastal counties of Jackson, Harrison and Hancock are traversed by Class I carrier CSX, which comes in from Mobile on the east and New Orleans on the west. In Hancock County, Port Bienville Rail runs between CSX and Port Bienville Industrial Park; Class I carrier Illinois Central crosses through George County between Hattiesburg and Mobile. Running north-south through George and Jackson counties is local carrier Mississippi Export line; Class I carrier Kansas City Southern runs north-south through Stone and Harrison County to the Mississippi State Port at Gulfport; Class I carrier Norfolk Southern runs through Pearl River County on its way to New Orleans. Local carrier Pearl River Valley is connected to the Norfolk line.

Telecommunications

The Mississippi Gulf Coast is home to some of the world’s leading technology companies, offering a wide array of telecommunication services that are essential for a company to thrive.
Among the telecommunication services offered are T-carriers, high-speed digital networks operating anywhere from 2 mbps to 274 mbps. Ideal for medium to large companies, this type of network is a cost-effective way of linking both voice and data, both inter-office and intra-office. AT&T is one of the leading companies that offers high-speed transfer services like the T-carriers as well as Point-to-Point (PPP) and Point-to-Point over Ethernet (PPPoE) services.
An alternative to T-carriers is broadband Internet access, which includes cable, DSL, Wi-Fi, and WiMAX. Cable One offers digital television and broadband Internet access through a cable modem. Bellsouth owns most of the Wireless Communication Service bands and offers Fast Access Internet service, including wireless broadband Internet access, Wi-Fi and WiMAX.
Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology that allows a voice call to be made using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. Users can travel all over the world and still be able to make and receive phone calls with an Internet connection. Vonage is one of the top nine leading providers of VoIP service and is available in South Mississippi. They offer a variety of products including Wi-Fi enabled phones that can be used with any of the T-Mobile and Cisco Wi-Fi spots.