“Gig City” continues to find innovative ways to help local businesses. 

Chattanooga announced last month that it is upping its commitment to more ubiquitous internet access with the launch of the country’s first 25 gig internet service delivered over a 100% fiber optic network. 

That comes after EPB – Chattanooga’s internet, TV, phone and energy company – rolled out gig-speed internet service in 2010 and was lauded for its help bringing faster internet to more people in the city. 

The rollout is specifically designed with places and businesses in high traffic areas to significantly increase bandwidth. From a tourism perspective, this could help turn the city’s convention center into a go-to destination for business conferences, e-gaming competitions, and live streaming events.

The city also hopes that it can help local businesses and startups. Platt Boyd, founder and CEO of Branch Technology, said that Chattanooga’s community-level commitment to faster internet speed “reinforces [his] decision to base” Branch in the city. 

“We see many manufacturing applications — for us, specifically, we’re looking forward to using this data capacity as Branch Technology becomes a multi-site manufacturer with live-streaming of production data from each factory to a cloud-based data lake,” Boyd said. 

Christy Gillenwater, president & CEO of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, sees the gig-speed expansion as another way for the city to attract tech talent. 

“With the nation’s most advanced smart city infrastructure and now the first to offer community-wide 25-Gig service, Chattanooga continues to be the best place for companies to locate. The new service will keep Chattanooga on the cutting edge and provide technology to help our local companies grow and innovate while also serving as a point of attraction for new business investment and job creation,” she told Hypepotamus. “We anticipate this will interest more high-tech industries and create new jobs in that sector, especially as Chattanooga continues to pave the way forward for logistics, healthcare and entrepreneurs in tech and beyond.”