When a company processes 180,000 medical claims each year and prides itself on embracing high tech in medical care, access to fiber connectivity is a no-brainer. When a city like Tullahoma offers reliable, fast, and affordable services via their municipal fiber network minus the expense of a big city, it makes sense to bring the company to the town. EnableComp is joining need and solution while creating new jobs in Tullahoma, home of LightTUBe.
Attracted by the Light
EnableComp, headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, now employs about 240 people who work for the company processing medical claims. Over the next five years, EnableComp will add 200 more positions, all in Tullahoma. They will invest an additional $1 million to develop an office facility.
According to Tullahoma Area Economic Development Corp executive director Thom Robinson, LightTUBe was “a key reason” for the company’s decision to expand in the city of about 19,000 people.
Tullahoma Mayor Lane Curlee said:
“This announcement continues the exciting growth that we are seeing in Tullahoma, and I want to thank EnableComp for their investment in our City. This project brings a diversity of economic growth to our area, and I know the strong development of our infrastructure, including our state-of-the-art Fiber Optic system has prepared us to welcome this company, as well as others that may follow.”
The Oasis
EnableComp’s investment in Tullahoma is the latest in a string of economic development results that relate to LightTUBe. Before the city invested in the network, job growth in Tullahoma lagged behind the rest of the state, but within two years after the city began offering broadband, that statistic changed. Job growth in the city doubled Tennessee’s statewide rate.
Since Tullahoma developed the municipal network, they’ve continued to be one of the areas in Tennessee with solid economic development. As Senator Janice Bowling has noted many times, the communities in her district without broadband suffer while Tullahoma continues to excel. As a Senator who represents counties, cities, and towns on both sides of the digital divide, Senator Bowling sees firsthand the stark difference.
Listen to Christopher interview Brian Skelton back in 2013 about the city’s decision to build the network when they spoke for episode 54 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast:
Learn more about the many examples of economic development tied to the presence of local community networks on our Municipal Networks and Economic Development page.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
