Chattanooga mayor credits city utility for bolstering broadband

Chattanooga, Tennessee, is considered ahead of the game with multi-gig connectivity, as in 2022 it introduced citywide 25-gig service for consumers and businesses. But how did its broadband initiatives begin? Mayor Tim Kelly (I-Chattanooga) noted the role local utility and broadband provider EPB has played in enhancing broadband access, adding, “It also helps that we’re sitting on a key node, obviously, for fiber in the eastern US.” Around 25 years ago, city leaders got the idea to expand broadband service via the local electric utility and they then “issued the bonds to build out the network.” Chattanooga’s fiber network was the starting point for the city’s efforts to optimize city operations. It then led to the development of smart city technologies. In December 2022,  tech company Qubitekk partnered with EPB to launch the first commercially available quantum network in the US. Companies based in Chattanooga can leverage Qubitekk’s network to test quantum technology like cryptography and supercomputing.