CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — EPB says it is launching the fastest residential internet service available anywhere in the country.

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly says with this new internet speed Chattanooga has the potential to unlock cutting edge technical innovation. With this internet speed students, businesses, and workers will have the fastest internet we have ever seen says Mayor Kelly.

Christy Gillenwater the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO says with this internet speed Chattanooga will attract talent from all over. Christy Gillenwater also says the 25 gig internet speed will allow Chattanooga's population to grow, our community to thrive, and businesses to grow.

President and CEO David Wade said in a Wednesday announcement:

EPB is taking the lead once again, in making Chattanooga the first in the nation to launch a 25 gig internet service community-wide.

The Convention Center, where the announcement took place, will be the first customer. EPB says it's the first convention center worldwide to have access to internet this fast. During the announcement today Hamilton County Mayor, Jim Coppinger, says that over 650,000 people come yearly to the convention center and with this new high speed internet the limit for possibilities is none.

Mayor Jim Coppinger says things like this start off as a conversation or an idea and David Wade turns it into reality.

“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.”

An EPB release says Hamilton County and the City of Chattanooga have each dedicated $151,000 in infrastructure funding for a total of $302,000 to cover the cost of installing new networking equipment and Wi-Fi access points throughout the convention center as well as much of the cost of providing multi-gig connectivity for the next five years. Once the new equipment is installed, EPB says visitors will be able to benefit from high-speed connectivity throughout the facility.