About The Innovation District

Where Chattanooga’s entrepreneurs, academics, and creatives collide. 

Events Calendar

Discover activities and events in the area.

Resiliency Checklist

Everything you need to prepare your organization for a crisis.

Small Business Supports

Helping small business owners across the region.

The Edney Innovation Center

The front door to the Innovation District of Chattanooga.

Tech Goes Home

Expanding access to technology and teaching digital literacy.

Digital Access Committee

Bringing together partners to close the digital divide, together.

HCS EdConnect

Home internet at no cost to thousands of families.

Connected Communities: Orchard Knob

The OKC leverages the collective support of partner organizations to tackle the whole picture of health and wellness in the historically underserved neighborhood.

Chattamatters

Answering the most basic and most complex questions about life in Chattanooga

EMPACT Program

Preparing residents for the jobs of tomorrow, and today. 

Chattanooga Smart Communities Collaborative

Working together to identify our region’s challenges and create solutions.

Environmental Sensors

Collecting and analyzing air quality data from across our region with US Ignite.

Education (4K Microscope & Lola)

High-tech tools in Hamilton County’s classrooms.

Community Connectivity

Expanding access to the internet in homes and neighborhoods.

Community Connectivity

Chattanooga is home to EPB’s fiber optic network, which can deliver speeds up to 10-gigabits-per-second to every home and business in its 600-square-mile footprint.

 Even with such an advanced infrastructure, there are often barriers to residents gaining access to technology and the internet, and participating in technological innovation. The Enterprise Center is committed to breaking down those barriers to ensure that everyone, regardless of income or neighborhood, is connected and engaged. We believe that no matter how advanced the technology in our community is, we are not a Smart Community until everyone has equitable access to it.

Our work in community connectivity takes many forms and includes the following programs, which run with community partners:

  • HCS EdConnect
  • Expanding public WiFi
  • Tech Goes Home
  • Understanding the impact of connectivity, through research partnerships with The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Boston College

 

Collaboration is the cornerstone of our approach to community connectivity. Locally, we organize the Digital Access and Equity Committee, which consists of more than 50 people representing a wide range of organizations, governmental entities, and educational institutions, and we are highly engaged with the Regional Broadband Alliance, which aims to expand digital access and equity in 16 counties across Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. On a national level, we work closely with the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), US Ignite, and other partners who work to improve connectivity in communities across the country.  

 
This photo shows The Enterprise Center staff member Casey Miller taking a selfie with the pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church and his wife.

Analyzing impact.

In addition to creating the opportunity for residents to get online, The Enterprise Center is studying the impact that internet access has on a community. Working with a research team at Boston College, we are examining how HCS EdConnect affects learning outcomes and the local economy.

Contact Us About Community Connectivity

Geoff Millener, Chief Operating Officer, geoff@theenterprisectr.org