Phoenix Center Rips Chattanooga's Claim Its City-Owned Broadband Had Big Economic Impact
“Much of the Chattanooga municipal broadband network was, and in part continues to be, financed by U.S. taxpayers and EPB’s captive electric ratepayers,” Phoenix's Chief Economist George S. Ford says
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EPB: Chattanooga’s city‑owned broadband network is facing new scrutiny after the Phoenix Center said the city’s widely promoted job‑creation claims don’t hold up to evidence. In a report released Wednesday, Phoenix Center Chief Economist George S. Ford reviewed Chattanooga’s EPB [Electric Power Board] latest economic study – which asserted the fiber network created or saved more than 10,420 jobs over 15 years. Ford concluded the findings were unsupported. The EPB report, authored by University of Tennessee Finance Professor Bento Lobo and EPB Community Economist William Plank, has been central to the city’s narrative that its $390 million municipal network has delivered major economic gains. “Much of the Chattanooga municipal broadband network was, and in part continues to be, financed by U.S. taxpayers and EPB’s captive electric ratepayers,” Ford said. Lobo and Plank also concluded the broadband network had a $5.3 billion economic impact from 2011 to 2025. Ford said the claims collapsed under empirical review. “The job‑creation narrative surrounding EPB’s network is not an inference drawn from observed labor market data,” he wrote. (More after paywall)
