Chattanooga fiber optic network attracts Knoxville business expansion

While many consider high-speed internet a luxury, several local governments in East Tennessee view the networking infrastructure as critical for attracting new business and overall economic development.

Multiple municipalities have taken it upon themselves to construct high-speed networks or rather than depending on private companies. The biggest example is currently Chattanooga, where the city-owned utility company pulled fiber optic cable to the doorsteps of its entire residential service area.

Lot of places

"In a lot of places, you can get the same kind of high speed service as Chattanooga. The difference is the price," said Dan Thompson with Knoxville-based IT company Claris Networks. "Connectivity there for us is about eight to ten times cheaper in Chattanooga than it is versus Knoxville or other cities. That's a huge deal when you're comparing $100 a month or $800 a month."

Claris is rapidly expanding its business in Chattanooga due to the city's infrastructure. The fast connections allow small and mid-sized companies to move towards a computing-cloud setup with Claris.

The cloud lets companies move a lot of this I.T.

"The cloud lets companies move a lot of this I.T. stuff they have to deal with to somebody else and let them take of it," said Thompson. "For us to provide this service you need a fast connection. When you have a market where the city has deep down done all of the legwork it makes it easier for our business to go to businesses all over town and offer our services. Internet speed is an afterthought because we know there won't have to be any upgrades to get the connection to the business location. Here in Knoxville and other cities, you may have to pay a premium to get speeds fast enough to support that [cloud]."

"Infrastructure is important for any community as it looks to recruit new industry and grow existing businesses. Whether it is interstate highways or information networks the Chamber supports responsible upgrades that can help our community grow," said Wagner.

A contentious element in the discussion centers on whether internet infrastructure should be provided by public dollars and compete with private companies that provide internet services. Chattanooga's network offers high-speed internet, digital television, and digital telephone services and directly competes with Comcast and AT&T.

Other cities just as Johnson City have moved forward with plans to build network infrastructure that focuses economic development with service to companies or rather than residential households.

The City of Knoxville's chief policy officer

The City of Knoxville's chief policy officer, Bill Lyons, told 10News there has been some discussion about constructing network infrastructure in the past.

A KUB spokesperson told 10News the utility has no current plans to expand its services to include high-speed internet or television just as those found in Chattanooga.

While citywide network infrastructure truly benefits information research companies just as Claris Networks, Thompson said he personally believes there are a lot of factors to consider earlier a municipality jumps into the ISP business.

"The question we as citizens need to ask is this something we'd be willing to spend money on," said Thompson. "I think you'd have to ask if you built this kind of network would more businesses come here. And if they would, do the tax dollars [gained by attracting news business] offset the cost that we as citizens would have to pay."