For years, it’s been known as “America’s first Gig City,” thanks to its city-owned fiber network.
That same infrastructure has positioned Chattanooga to potentially become the nation’s first “Quantum City,” according to a new economic impact analysis showing EPB Fiber and the utility's smart-grid systems has generated $5.3 billion in net community benefits for Hamilton County since 2011.
The city is now poised to enter the Quantum realm.
The research builds on an earlier 10‑year return‑on‑investment analysis – published in August 2020 – that showed the city’s publicly-owned fiber network had delivered $2.69 billion in value over its first decade.
The new follow-up study – From Gig City to Quantum City: The Value of Fiber Optic Infrastructure in Hamilton County, TN 2011-2035 – expands the time horizon and finds that over 15 years the total community benefit has grown to $5.3 billion, illuminating how the long‑term value of municipal broadband can really pay-off.
A Massive Economic Boost
Conducted by researchers at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the study finds that the municipal fiber network has dramatically reshaped the regional economy, supporting 10,420 jobs from 2011 to 2024 – about 31 percent of all net new jobs created locally over the past decade.
The return on investment has been extraordinary: the network has delivered 6.4 times the value of its original $396 million investment, the study indicates.
“Since the project was fully completed in 2011, it has returned more than six times the original cost of the investment,” said Bento Lobo, Ph.D., lead author and director of the Department of Finance and Economics at the UTC Rollins College of Business – describing Chattanooga’s fiber network as “one of our community’s most meaningful and impactful investments.”
Strong Rebuttal to Critics
For years, opponents of municipal broadband have argued that networks like EPB’s require taxpayer subsidies, distort markets, and undermine competition. But the new study directly contradicts that narrative.
Lobo and his co-author William Plank write:
“Critics of EPB’s venture into fiber optics point to the need for taxpayer subsidies or cross-subsidies… leading to predatory entry and the stifling of competition. We find the opposite to be true.” (emphasis added)
The researchers conclude that EPB’s fiber division has done the reverse – generating surplus revenue that “reverse subsidizes” electric ratepayers by strengthening the utility’s financial position, reducing the pressure for rate hikes, and avoiding high borrowing costs.
The study adds that municipal fiber also made the local broadband market more competitive, not less:
“The infrastructure has served to lower broadband prices and push competitors to improve service offerings in the area.”
The ‘Secret Sauce’ of Community-Wide Benefit
Roughly 70 percent of the total benefits stem from EPB’s municipal broadband network.
About 20 percent can be attributed to the automated smart grid.
Together, these systems have prevented more than 417 million minutes of power outages, saving ratepayers an estimated $631 million.
The network has also boosted remote work, tech entrepreneurship, and digital inclusion efforts, the study says.
The latter has been done through HCS EdConnect – a community partnership that relies on EPB Fiber – by providing nearly 28,000 students and families with free or low-cost home Internet.
Back in May, Chattanooga's Mayor accepted a Heartland Summit honor that recognized Chattanooga for being a "Secret Sauce Community."
At the time, Mayor Tim Kelly pointed to the city’s fiber network as both a source of pride and catalyst for growth:
“Chattanooga is proof that a mid-sized city can punch above its weight when we focus on innovation and quality of life. We were the first city in the country to roll out citywide gig-speed internet, and today that foundation supports everything from advanced manufacturing to tech startups….”
Laying the Groundwork for a “Quantum City”
The study further notes that Chattanooga is uniquely positioned to leverage its fiber and smart-grid systems for emerging quantum technologies.
Between 2026 and 2035, these combined systems, the study estimates, will add another $5 billion in community benefit, along with 8,000 new jobs. Of that, EPB’s quantum initiatives alone are expected to generate up to $1.1 billion.
Though the long-term vision is far from complete, EPB already operates one of the nation’s first commercially accessible quantum networks, giving researchers and startups a rare testbed for next-generation applications.
A National Model
For policymakers, the study reinforces a central reality: broadband networks are core infrastructure, with a long-term value that extends far beyond the balance sheet.
Long recognized as an award-winning network and among the top ranking ISPs across the nation to earn highest Overall Satisfaction Scores in Consumer Report’s 2025 ratings, Chattanooga’s EPB Fiber continues to show that community broadband can strengthen utilities, increase competition, and deliver lasting economic gains – while lowering prices.
For home Internet subscribers, EPB offers (what in most cities would be) an enviable choice of service tiers and prices: $58/month for a symmetrical 300 Megabits per second connection; $68/month for symmetrical gig speed service; and 2.5 gig symmetrical service for just under $100/month.
No long-term contracts, hidden fees, or usage caps. Also, eligible low-income households with a school-aged child can get free fiber service, a program now serving 28,000 students and families.
That covers the now. But, peering into the future, the study concludes:
“Fiber networks are poised to be the backbone for a host of revolutionary technologies and services in the coming decade, enabling transformative technologies and services. Chattanooga appears ready to meet these new developments. By 2035, it is likely that the moniker ‘Quantum City’ will apply.”
Watch Bento Lobo discuss how the city’s fiber network has been leveraged as an economic development engine during a recent ILSR and AAPB webinar on “Building Smarter Cities and the Cost of Doing Nothing” below:
Header image of EPB Fiber strands courtesy of EPB Facebook page
Inline screenshot of Realized Benefits table courtesy of study From Gig City to Quantum City: The Value of Fiber Optic Infrastructure in Hamilton County, TN 2011-2035
Inline image of fiber connected homes courtesy of EPB Facebook page
Inline image of EPB operations center courtesy of EPB Facebook page
