Kansas City, Kan., Gets Google’s Ultra-Fast Broadband

Google picked Kansas City, Kan., to build its ultra-high-speed fiber network, after a year-long search for a location to test broadband at speeds 100 times faster than existing technologies in wide use. The company plans to offer service starting in 2012, pending approval from the city’s Board of Commissioners, Google Vice President Milo Medin wrote in a blog post Wednesday.

Google will work closely with local organizations, including the Kauffman Foundation, KCNext and the University of Kansas Medical Center (UKMC), to help develop the 1 Gbps applications of the future, it said. The company said it’s also looking at ways to bring ultra high-speed Internet to other cities. Kansas City met the criteria as a location where it could build efficiently, make an impact on the community and develop relationships with local government and community organizations, Medin said. More than 1,100 municipalities applied. Some complained about a delay in picking a winner, and in lack of communication between Google and the municipalities.

Expanding access to broadband is “a priority for my administration,” said Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) during an assembly at Wyandotte High School. More than 20 other communities in Kansas applied for Google’s test project, the Republican noted in the event that was webcast. He envisions remote diagnosing and monitoring services at UKMC. The ultra-fast connections could lead to technologies not yet developed, said Patrick Pichette, Google chief financial officer. Speed matters “immensely,” he said. The company didn’t say how much the service would cost. It’s also too early to comment on a final cost for the deployment, because multiple factors will play a role, a company spokesman said. Google has committed to offering 1 Gbps straight to homes and businesses at a competitive price, said Joe Reardon, mayor and CEO of the Kansas City Unified Government. As part of the agreement, Google will be offering free access to schools and city facilities, he said.

Google made a good choice in Kansas City as its initial ultra-fast broadband project, said municipal lawyer Nicholas Miller of Miller & Van Eaton. The city is an “under-reported success story of strong local government” leading broadband, economic development and community initiatives, he said. The announcement sets an example of a community and a state working in partnership with private industry to improve access to Internet connections, community broadband consultant Craig Settles said.