EPB

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This article is about the utility company. For other uses, see EPB (disambiguation).
EPB
Company typePublic utility
IndustryElectricity
Telecommunications
PredecessorChattanooga Electric Power Board
Founded1935
Headquarters
Chattanooga, Tennessee
,
United States
Area served
Southeastern Tennessee, Chattanooga, North Georgia
Key people
Harold DePriest, CEO
ServicesElectricity, Internet, Telecommunications, Cable TV services
Websitehttp://www.epb.net/

EPB, also known as the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, is an electricity distribution and telecommunications company owned by the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee.[1] In 2010, EPB was the first company in the United States to offer 1 Gbit/s high-speed internet, over 200 times faster than the national average.[2] On October 15, 2015, Chattanooga implemented the world's first community-wide 10-gig Internet service, available to all of EPB's 175,000 homes and businesses.[3]

In 1935, an act of the Tennessee Legislature established EPB as an independent, non-profit board of the City of Chattanooga to provide electric power to the Greater Chattanooga area. Today, EPB remains one of the largest publicly owned electric power distributors in the country.[4] EPB serves more than 175,000 homes and businesses in a 600-square-mile (1,600 km2) area that includes greater Chattanooga and Hamilton County, portions of surrounding Southeastern Tennessee counties and areas of north Georgia.

Expansions

EPB is also providing its gigabit internet service in the Chattanooga Airport, where visitors enjoy free high-speed Wi-Fi service. They set up a demonstration area in the former gift shop. EPB also provides free high-speed Wi-Fi in Miller Plaza.[5] EPB is also one of the largest providers of electric power in the US.[6] EPB has chosen Aimetis Corp as their security system operator to optimize their efficiency. This is because of Aimetis's "robust video analytics and the open architecture system."[6] EPB has petitioned the FCC to allow them to deliver internet to communities outside of the 600 square mile area that they service. Nineteen states in the US have laws the make it difficult or impossible for utility companies to deliver internet outside of the area that they service.[7]

Fiber optics

When EPB first turned on the fiber-optic network for internet, customers were getting up to ten times the speed to which they were accustomed. Even those with lower-priced internet tiers saw their speeds nearly double. The service now has reached up to 10 Gbit/s. Using fiber-optic technology is much cheaper, since the price of internet went down almost $300 per month when they started using the new technology.[8] In 2010, EPB introduced enQuesta 4 to their arsenal of security tools.[9]

Using a 100% fiber-optic communication network as its backbone, EPB has created a Smart Grid. The grid is a next-generation electric system that includes communication capabilities designed to reduce the impact of power outages, improve response time, and allow customers greater control of their electric power usage. This same fiber optic backbone allows EPB to offer high-speed Internet, TV, and phone service to business and residential customers in the service area.[1] In September 2010, EPB became the first company in the United States to offer one gigabit-per-second Internet speed, a critical component of next generation technology innovation and economic development, to more than 175,000 homes and businesses. This exclusive capability has attracted worldwide attention and earned Chattanooga the nickname "Gig City."[2]

Over-billing

EPB experienced some news coverage in 2014 concerning alleged over-billing for streetlights. The claim is that EPB overcharged East Ridge $87,000 and Red Bank $304,000 in the last 20 years. This lawsuit was from one-time city lighting contractor Don Lepard, not through his company. His company is not concerned, since the cities have not contacted the company about the suit. He asked for "$4.8 million in penalties for False Claims Act violations and $1.23 million in treble damages".[10] Lepard says that EPB had been re-classifying lights so that way they would cost more to the city. A Hamilton County judge dismissed Lepard's lawsuit against EPB over street light charges.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Boyle, Rebecca (2010-09-13). "Country's Fastest Broadband Internet Will Soon Chug Along in Chattanooga". Popular Science. Bonnier Corporation Company. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
  2. ^ a b Lohr, Erik (2010-09-12). "Fastest Net Service in U.S. Coming to Chattanooga". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
  3. ^ https://www.epb.net/media-relations/news/news_archive/chattanooga-implements-worlds-first-community-wide-10-gigabit-internet-service/
  4. ^ "Twenty Largest U.S. Publicly Owned Electric Utilities Ranked by Purchase Power Expenses for All Respondents, 2000". Department of Energy. Department of Energy. 2000-06-30.
  5. ^ Pare, Mike (September 16, 2014). "EPB gigabit service coming to Chattanooga Airport". Times Free Press.
  6. ^ a b "Aimetis Corp secures Electronic Power Board of Chattanooga, Tennessee". Nov 26, 2012. Retrieved Oct 13, 2014.
  7. ^ States, stand down! Let community broadband innovate, Gigaom, 27 July 2014, Craig Settles
  8. ^ Fung, Brian (September 17, 2013). "Chattanooga gets super-fast Internet". Infotrac Newsstand. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  9. ^ "Chattanooga's Electric Power Board (EPB) Goes Live with enQuesta 4". Nov 29, 2010. Retrieved Oct 13, 2014.
  10. ^ Smith, Ellis (September 24, 2014). "UPDATED: Second whistleblower lawsuit filed against EPB". Times Free Press.
  11. ^ http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2015/sep/11/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-against-epb-over-streetlight-charges/324675/

Further reading

External links

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