Fiber and smart grid have transformed Chattanooga and Hamilton County

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Sept. 20, 2024)—Fifteen years ago this month, EPB served its first fiber optic customer with the Chattanooga area’s only 100% fiber optic service at 15 megabits per second (Mbps) with symmetrical upload and download speeds. Today, EPB Fiber Optics still delivers the area’s only 100% symmetrical fiber optic service with speeds up to 25,000 gigabits per second (25 Gig) and maintains the world’s fastest community-wide internet.

“When EPB launched fiber optic services in 2009, many of the conveniences we enjoy today didn’t exist. Many homes didn’t have access to high-speed internet to work from home, and a lot of us rented movies by mail,” said EPB CEO David Wade. “The EPB board’s future-facing decision to approve offering fiber optic services dynamically changed our community and is one of the most important measures we’ve taken to fulfill our mission to enhance quality of life here.”

EPB has continued to invest in its fiber optic system to meet customers’ needs as they have changed over the last 15 years. Famous today for the Gig internet service, EPB Fiber Optics’ most popular service originally was video. Today, 98% of fiber customers receive internet service.

Although EPB Fiber Optics services have earned national attention since launching in 2009, the original business plan had conservative goals, many of which far exceeded expectations. According to an independent study, EPB’s fiber optic system and smart grid generated nearly $2.7 billion in community benefit in the first 10 years of operation.

• Strong community response: Initially, EPB anticipated 35% of eligible electric customers would subscribe to the service. Since launch, that number has doubled to 70% with enthusiastic interest, and EPB Fiber Optics still leads in the competitive local internet service market.
• More reliable electricity: With the introduction of fiber optic services, EPB also launched what is still the country’s most advanced smart grid with the goal of reducing outages by 40%. During its first 10 years of operation, the smart grid has far exceeded those expectations by delivering outage reductions of up to 55% each year, along with up to $55 million in savings each year by avoiding spoilage, lost productivity and other negative impacts.
• Additional funding to strengthen Chattanooga’s infrastructure while keeping costs lower for customers: EPB’s original business plan for fiber optics services projected that by 2024 the effort would generate $101 million in revenue and that the fiber optic division would pay $16 million per year in access fees and allocations to the electric system. Actual financial performance has significantly outpaced the projection as fiber optics generated $186 million in revenue in 2024 while paying $48 million in access fees and allocations. By paying these additional funds into the electric system, EPB has strengthened Chattanooga’s electric grid while keeping rates lower for customers over time.
• Bridging the Digital Divide: Offering ubiquitous fiber-to-the-home service paved the way for launching HCS EdConnect powered by EPB in 2020 to provide internet at no charge to qualifying Hamilton County Schools students and their families thanks to funding by community partners. Today, the program serves more than 16,000 students who with their families represent nearly 28,000 Hamilton County residents.
• Exceptional customer service: EPB transitioned to 24/7/365 customer relations as part of its launch of fiber optic services and has continued incorporating feedback to give customers the best possible experience. Thanks to those efforts, EPB has been recognized for the last eight years as J.D. Power’s Best in Customer Satisfaction for Residential Electric Service in the South among Midsize Utilities.
• Community investment: EPB has more than doubled its annual payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) from approximately $8.5 million before offering fiber optic services to almost $18 million in fiscal year 2024, becoming the largest payor to local governments for schools and other public services.
• Increasing local economic activity: Following EPB Fiber Optics’ success, community-based providers around the country began seeking advice from EPB to incorporate into their own fiber optic deployments. To provide support, EPB launched EPB Broadband Solutions, which provides planning and technical services, generating $6.7 million last fiscal year, creating local jobs to support these services to internet service providers outside Chattanooga’s market.

“EPB’s original investment 15 years ago established Chattanooga’s place on the cutting edge of fiber optic technology and positioned us to incorporate new technology to benefit our community,” Wade emphasized. “Even today, we discover new applications that we never considered possible, thanks to our fiber optic foundation, like EPB Quantum Network, energy storage and much more.”

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About EPB

EPB is a customer-focused technology company that delivers innovative power and telecommunications solutions to the Chattanooga area in pursuit of its mission to enhance the quality of life for the community it serves. In 2010, EPB completed a 100% fiber optic network accessible to all its customers as the basis for launching America’s first community-wide Gig speed internet. The company still operates the world’s fastest community-wide internet service today at speeds up to 25 Gig. EPB also utilizes Chattanooga’s fiber optic network as the communications backbone for the most advanced and highly automated power distribution system in the United States. In 2022, EPB continued its commitment to keeping Chattanooga on the cutting edge by establishing our nation’s first commercially available quantum network—EPB Quantum Network℠ powered by Qubitekk. This effort aligns local job creation efforts with the national priority to accelerate the commercialization of quantum technology.

Since switching the lights on for its first electric customer in 1939, EPB has grown to serve nearly a half a million people across a 600-square-mile service area with cutting-edge infrastructure that integrates power distribution and telecommunications. At the same time, EPB keeps customer benefit at the center of all its efforts, earning recognition from J.D. Power as the #1 Mid-Sized Utility in the South for the last eight consecutive years based on customer satisfaction ratings. Learn more at epb.com.