Chattanooga to Get 150 Mbps Fiber Network
WASHINGTON, June 4, 2010 – Chattanooga, Tennessee will now have the fastest home broadband speeds in the nation through a municipal fiber optic network. The network is maintained through a subsidiary, EPB Fiber Optics, of the city’s municipal electric provider EPB. The network boasts speeds of up to
WASHINGTON, June 4, 2010 – Chattanooga, Tennessee will now have the fastest home broadband speeds in the nation through a municipal fiber optic network. The network is maintained through a subsidiary, EPB Fiber Optics, of the city’s municipal electric provider EPB. The network boasts speeds of up to 150Mbps symmetrical, in comparison the fastest Verizon Fios is offering is 50Mbp down and 20Mbps up. This new high speed access is quite expensive for users, the 100Mbps plan is $349; pricing for the new 150 plan not announced yet.
The network covers 170,00 homes and business in Chattanooga, along with 6 other counties in Tenessee and northern Georgia.
Chattanooga MayorRon Littlefield said of this new high speed network, “The kind of network that is being built in Chattanooga today is exactly what companies like Google are imploring cities in this country to focus their efforts on. Though it may seem surprising to some, Chattanooga is light years ahead when it comes to advanced communications availability.”
In addition to providing high speed internet, VoIp and video services the new network will also act as the backbone for the creation of a smart grid network. EPB has already been awarded $111.5 million by the Department of Energy to create a smart grid.
