Chattanooga’s EPB, after being the first service provider in the U.S. to offer gigabit and 10-Gbps broadband, is once again blazing new broadband trails with a symmetrical 25-Gbps offering now available across its fiber to the premises network. Through a partnership with Hamilton County and the City of Chattanooga, EPB is hooking up the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Convention Center as its first 25-gig customer.

Hamilton County and the City of Chattanooga have each chipped in $151,000 in infrastructure funding to cover network installation and Wi-Fi access points throughout the convention center as well as much of the cost of providing multi-gigabit services for the next five years. Nokia will provide its 25G PON technology for the effort, while Arista Networks will supply the elements for the secure multi-gig PoE campus switching platform needed to upgrade the convention space to WiFi 6.

“Connectivity continues to be a top priority for conventions because you need a great deal of bandwidth to support thousands of people using their smart devices at the same time,” said Mike Shuford, executive director of the Chattanooga Convention Center. “We’re also seeing an increased focus on hybrid virtual and in-person events, e-gaming, and live streaming. Offering 25-gig internet service will make Chattanooga stand out to conference planners and will eliminate the frustration of trying to communicate at a crowded convention or special event.”

“EPB is keeping Chattanooga on the cutting edge,” said Vicky Gregg, EPB board chair. “We are once again breaking the typical approach for internet service providers by proactively upgrading to the latest technologies in anticipation of future needs. Our goal is to enable new frontiers for technical innovation and job creation for our customers to the benefit of our whole community.”

While EPB is offering 25-Gbps services across its footprint, it notes that most home networks aren’t set up for such bandwidths. “Today’s residential-grade routers will not support this speed — nor will traditional routers that can be purchased from retailers like Best Buy. Utilizing speeds this great requires professional-grade equipment,” the service provider notes on its website. The company offers a complimentary site survey “to assess your business objectives and consult with you on how best to achieve them.”