Kansas City Gets Google Fiber Prize; 1100 Cities Including Glendale Competed 1

Congratulations to Kansas City, Kansas, Google’s selection for its rollout of a municipal 1Gbps fiber-optic network. Glendale was one of the nearly 1,100 cities who applied for the company’s initiative. The official Google blog announcement includes this postscript:

We’ve heard from some communities that they’re disappointed not to have been selected for our initial build. So just to reiterate …we’re so thrilled by the interest we’ve generated—today is the start, not the end the project. And over the coming months, we’ll be talking to other interested cities about the possibility of us bringing ultra high-speed broadband to their communities.

A citywide 1Gbps high-speed internet system shouldn’t be a novelty in this country. Glendale and the other communities who took the trouble to apply to Google should look for other ways to bring the fastest internet communications technology to their businesses, households, educational institutions, and public agencies.

The LA Times quotes Google’s chief financial officer in this report:

“Speed matters, speed matters immensely,” he said. “Speed is like oxygen; when you have it you take it for granted. Once you don’t have it, you realize it’s everything.”

…”Over 1,100 cities showed up and said, ‘I’m ready for this,'” Pichette said. “Clearly, America has voted: They want higher speed, faster speed. They want the next-generation Web today.”