Monday, December 29, 2014
Associated Press
CHATTANOOGA, TENN.
A city once infamous for the smoke-belching foundries that blanketed its buildings and streets with a heavy layer of soot is turning to lightning-fast Internet speeds to try to transform itself into a vibrant tech hub.
Through a combination of political will and federal stimulus money, 175-year-old Chattanooga became the first U.S. city to broadly offer a gigabit per second internet speeds — nearly 50 times the national broadband average.
Whether that’s enough to turn a modest southern city into a mini Silicon Valley remains to be seen, but local leaders are betting they’ve positioned themselves well for what lies ahead in the global economy.
“This is an old town with a new vision,” said Aaron Welch, who became a hero of the emerging tech scene when he sold his app that reserves specific tables at restaurants to a rival for $11.5 million.
Other startups migrating to the “Gig City” to tap into the government-owned broadband network include 3D Ops, which converts MRI or CT scans into anatomical replicas to help doctors prepare for surgeries; shoemaker Feetz, which makes custom footwear using 3-D printing technology; and moving service Bellhops, which coordinates the logistics of managing 8,000 college student contractors nationwide.
The nascent tech scene is the latest development in Chattanooga’s decades-long effort to reinvent itself after a 1969 federal study called it the most polluted U.S. city.
A downtown revival over the last two decades was anchored by the Tennessee Aquarium and a $120 million redevelopment of the Tennessee River waterfront. The city inaugurated its fiber optic network — with a $111 million boost from the 2009 federal stimulus package.