Fiber To The Home Will Bring Many Community Benefits

New EPB Initiative Approved by Board

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The EPB Board of Directors announced today the initial approval of a Fiber to the Home initiative designed to help generate new jobs, improve the electric power distribution system and provide additional benefits for the Chattanooga area.

Fiber to the Home is a communications infrastructure that allows for large amounts of information to be transmitted at extremely high speeds. With this system, fiber optic lines are used throughout the network, all the way to the customer’s home or business.

“A Fiber to the Home infrastructure will help ensure a growing supply of jobs for our children – and our grandchildren,” said Harold DePriest, EPB’s President and CEO. “Fiber to the Home will be as critical to Chattanooga’s quality of life as electric power was in the 1930s or the Interstate system was in the 1950s. On top of that, it will help make electricity in our area even more reliable and affordable.”

And according to DePriest, just as cities bypassed by the Interstate system suffered economic decline, cities bypassed by Fiber to the Home could suffer in the future.

“Fiber to the Home is now the global telecommunications standard for voice, video and data exchange,” DePriest said. “Cities around the world are already enjoying the benefits of Fiber to the Home infrastructures, including new jobs, new businesses and social benefits such as improved healthcare, education and public security.”

“A recent study by a group of professors at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Tennessee State University suggests these economic and social benefits alone could top $600 million for Chattanooga over ten years,” he added.

Another study, verified by the Electric Power Research Institute, indicates that Fiber to the Home will also allow EPB to make significant improvements to its electric power distribution system. The infrastructure can help the company locate problems earlier, restore outages more quickly and gain efficiencies that are not currently available. It will also allow EPB to provide more tools to help customers reduce their power usage and cost.

The value to electric power customers in the form of reduced outages, energy conservation and other efficiencies is estimated at roughly $300 million over ten years, bringing Fiber to the Home’s total value to the community to nearly $1 billion over the course of ten years.

EPB plans to fund the construction of the infrastructure with income generated by the sale of very high speed internet, video entertainment, and digital phone. These products and services will be made available to residential and business customers throughout EPB’s service territory.

The final step in the approval process is the Chattanooga City Council’s vote. EPB encourages Chattanooga area residents to voice either their support or opposition to this plan by contacting the Chattanooga City Council or members of EPB’s Board of Directors.

EPB plans to begin building the Fiber to the Home infrastructure as soon as approvals are in place, with a goal to connect the first customers in the fall of 2008.

For more information contact:
Karlene Claridy
(423) 648-1446