Chattanooga's Got More Money for Broadband Apps

Seems like everywhere you turn, someone wants to throw money at you if you have a great broadband app that takes advantage of gigabit networks. Are you going to step up for a chance for mo' money, mo' money, mo' money?

John Wilson, Co-founder and former president of flexible display maker NanoLumens, Inc., and coordinator of Chattanooga's Gig Prize, gives the lowdown on the city's latest entry in the programming-for-dollars sweepstakes movement. We'll compare and contrast this contest with Kansas City's Gigabit Challenge that we talked about on the show two weeks ago.

Chattanooga's [up to] $350,000 Gig Prize contest (made possible in part by a grant from Alcatel-Lucent) is open to anyone in the world with great ideas. It's focused on creating apps using a gig network that's already operating and serving as the test bed. Particpants therefore get real world feedback in real time on their apps' effectiveness.

We also discuss how cities and counties can run similar contests that are focused mainly on the local communities. This is an effective way to boost local small business broadband adoption.