Alcatel-Lucent Invests $100,000 in Chattanooga’s "The Gig Prize™"
Chattanooga, Tenn. (October 26, 2011) – Alcatel-Lucent is investing $100,000 in the "The Gig Prize™," a Chattanooga-based initiative to foster the development of gigabit per second Internet applications and business ventures.
"Last year, Chattanooga became America’s first and only city to complete a community-wide network capable of delivering up to 1 gigabit per second Internet speeds to every home and business in a EPB’s 600 square mile service area," said Robert Vrij, president of Alcatel-Lucent’s Americas Region. "We’re proud to partner with Chattanooga as this extraordinary city establishes a groundbreaking model for demonstrating the direct linkage between investment in telecommunications infrastructure and economic growth."
Vrij made his announcement as part of his keynote address during the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce’s Spirit of Innovation luncheon where community leaders announced an initiative to position Chattanooga as the Gig City™ and unveiled the Gig Prize™.
The Gig Prize™ is a competition in which students and entrepreneurs will create and test next generation Internet applications and launch businesses using Chattanooga’s blazing fast Internet.
"Chattanooga offers forward thinking entrepreneurs a huge head-start in leading the next generation of Internet commerce," said Tom Edd Wilson, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. "The Gig Prize™ will provide the support and connections necessary to develop, prove and fund these paradigm shifting business models."
Additional information about The Gig Prize™ will be released in coming weeks. Interested students and entrepreneurs can learn more at www.chattanoogagig.com where challenge rules and details will be available soon.
About The Gig City™: Chattanooga Tennessee
Recently hailed by the New York Times for having America’s fastest Internet (up to 1 gigabit per second available to every home and business in a 600 square mile area) and by Outside Magazine as "The Best Town Ever," Chattanooga, Tennessee combines advanced technology infrastructure with a thriving cosmopolitan atmosphere that’s just minutes from mountains, rivers and other outdoor playgrounds. In recent years, Chattanooga’s signature lifestyle and focus on environmental stewardship has helped attract $4 billion in foreign direct investment including a Volkswagen auto assembly plant. Now, Chattanooga is putting the finishing touches on the largest and most advanced Smart Grid in the nation and using its gig network to pioneer a model for what other cities could become when bandwidth is no barrier.
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