The fix for America’s terrible internet is hiding in Tennessee

Chattanooga’s publicly owned internet network has helped transform the once struggling city into an unlikely marvel of civic reinvention. | Lucy Jones for Vox; Getty Images Most Americans hate their cable companies. But not the 200,000-odd residents of Chattanooga, Tennessee, a city nestled in the Appalachian foothills.  For many people, the city might seem off the beaten path — enough so that when Spain’s national team chose the city as their base during the FIFA World Cup over the summer, the internet exploded with jeers of incredulity. And yet, as many an urban planner, and certainly many a local, will tell you, Chattanooga is a special place, known not just because the Glenn Miller Orchestra immortalized it as a scenic hub for the choo-choo train. No, what really has put Chattanooga on the map recently is its ridiculously fast, municipally owned internet.  Key takeaways Chattanooga, Tennessee, is home to some of the fastest, most beloved broadband in the nation. It’s all thanks to the city’s publicly owned internet network, which has been linked to billions of dollars in economic benefits since coming online in 2010. Hundreds of other cities have followed suit in the years since, but many others have been stymied by opposition from major cable companies....