From Gig City to Quantum City: The Value of Fiber Optic Infrastructure in Hamilton County, TN 2011-2035

This study computes the realized economic value of fiber optic infrastructure in Hamilton County and the city of Chattanooga over a 15-year period from 2011 to 2025. Our estimates show that the economic value of high-speed broadband and the smart grid exceeds $5.3 billion and 10,420 jobs over the study period. The incremental value of the infrastructure exceeds the cost by a factor of 6.4x. Each county resident is estimated to have benefited by about $936 per year due to the incremental value generated by the fiber-optic infrastructure. These estimates exceed the projections made at the time the infrastructure was planned, and in subsequent efforts to measure the realized value of the infrastructure.