FCC Sends National Broadband Plan to Congress; Glendale Pursues Google High-Speed Fiber Initiative 2

The FCC sent its proposed National Broadband Plan to Congress yesterday, as the entire legislative branch of the U.S. government was distracted with the Health Care for America debate. Yesterday evening, Glendale city council members approved an initiative (suggested on Sunroom Desk back in February!) to apply as a test city for Google’s ultra high-speed fiber optic network.

The National Broadband Plan’s #1 long-term goal, which will serve as “a compass over the next decade”, is to get at least 100 million U.S. homes affordable access to “actual download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and actual upload speeds of at least 50 megabits per second.” Current cable and dsl services don’t even come close to providing such speed.

Google’s goal is to install a fiber-optic network offering those speeds, within a year’s time, in a few test cities around the country. Glendale’s businesses, households, schools, and civic communications could all enjoy ultra high-speed internet access and be at the leading edge of the information revolution!

Go to Google4Glendale.com to nominate Glendale as a test city. Glendale staff have already put together a solid list of reasons why Glendale is a great city for this network.