Is Gigabit Enough Now to Create the Next Chattanooga? Enter the Digital Town Square

It’s been about a decade now since EPB, the public electric utility in Chattanooga (TN), made headlines with plans to make gigabit broadband available to all citizens. As gigabit service becomes more commonplace, there is a real question whether gigabit alone is enough to create the next Chattanooga. A new initiative from US Ignite known as the Digital Town Square suggests a different infrastructure option could now be the way to differentiate a community. We talked to Scott Turnbull, director of technology for US Ignite, about the Digital Town Square, which aims to enhance a community’s infrastructure so that it supports connectivity that not only provides high speeds but also low latency. The lower latency is achieved using edge computing and advanced network switching capabilities that facilitate more efficient internet traffic exchange, Turnbull explained.