Chanute is not just a small rural town in Southeast Kansas anymore. Their State-of-the-Art fiber network connects schools and other important community institutions with gigabit networks, and many local businesses give the publicly owned utility credit for providing the best available broadband option. Through strategic partnership’s with local businesses, Chanute has made great progress in solving its broadband issues. As the network expands, Chanute plans to offer smart-grid type investments the gas, water, and electrical utilities — all of which are owned and operated by the municipality.
Spirit AeroSystems chose Chanute for its new manufacturing facility in part due to its exceptional broadband infrastructure. The plant will create 100 new jobs.
The community college has a gigabit WAN for its twelve buildings and is saving almost $20,000 each year in Internet connectivity compared to At&T’s rates.