TN Town Spends Millions To Offer High-Speed Internet, Gets No Customers

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NASHVILLE — Tullahoma, a city of only 18,000 residents, has invested $17 million of taxpayer money in ultra-high-speed Internet in hopes of attracting business to the small Tennessee town.

But as city leaders tout the potential economic benefits of the service known as Gigabit Internet, critics question the high cost of the infrastructure and why local government is getting into business normally provided by the private sector.

No private Internet service providers in the state offer the service, which runs 150 times faster than the slowest Internet speeds, because they say market demands don't require it yet — nor will they for at least 10 more years.