Miss. Code Ann. § 25-53-109: Miss. Code Ann. § 25-53-109

The bureau is hereby authorized and empowered to exercise such duties and powers necessary to effectuate the purposes of Sections 25-53-101 through 25-53-125 including the following:

(a) Form an advisory council made up of persons with expertise, and experience in the field of telecommunications for the purpose of setting goals, establishing long-range plans and policies and to oversee and assist in the procurement activities regarding telecommunications equipment and services;

(b) Provide more effective management of state telecommunications resources and implement long-range plans and procurement;

(c) Manage, plan and coordinate all telecommunications systems under the jurisdiction of the state. This centralized management function would be provided throughout the following activities:

(i) Administration of existing systems including coordination of activities, vendors, service orders and billing/record-keeping functions;

(ii) Planning of new systems or services;

(iii) Design of replacement systems;

(iv) Project management during specification writing, bid letting, proposal evaluation and contract negotiations;

(v) Implementation supervision of new systems and ongoing support;

(vi) Implementation of long-term state plans; and

(vii) Management of intra-LATA and inter-LATA networks.