Gigabit and the Economy: A First-Hand Look at Chattanooga

Of the six major cities where gigabit service already has been deployed, Chattanooga (TN) has had gigabit service for the longest. Local power company EPB, which owns the network, launched gigabit service there in 2009. And to this day, Chattanooga is the only city whose offering extends citywide. That makes the market a kind of bellwether for gauging the impact of gigabit service – and judging by what Telecompetitor saw at a press event that was organized by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the results there bode well for the gigabit movement.

Chattanooga has experienced the third highest wage growth of all mid-size US cities and has added many high-tech jobs paying an average of $69,000 a year, noted Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. Charles Wood, vice president of economic development for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, notes that some companies make the decision to locate in Chattanooga because of an indirect benefit of the city’s fiber infrastructure: The fiber network also supports the city’s smart grid infrastructure -- and according to EPB, that infrastructure enables the company to restore service to most customers within just a few minutes, an improvement that can be measured in days over what the company experienced previously. That capability has strong appeal for financial firms or other companies that can lose hundreds of thousands of dollars for every minute power is out, noted Wood. Chattanooga’s experience should be good news for other communities considering a gigabit deployment, as it suggest that the secondary impact of gigabit may be stronger than expected.