Back in 2009, Chattanooga was like many small cities in the US. While its downtown had high-speed internet, people and businesses in its wider territory had no access to broadband. EPB, the city’s electrical utility company, realized that it could change that by offering fibre broadband from the fibre network it would install alongside its grid upgrade. That forward-looking move, done in collaboration with the city government and without the need for taxpayer support, made Chattanooga the first city in the country to boast a city-wide gigabit per second. Chattanooga, or “Gig City” as it is becoming known locally, has gained $2.2bn in incremental value from investment, a ratio of more than 4:1 compared to its cost.

Read more at The World Economic Forum.