
Google announced today that Kansas City will be the first city to get its super duper 1Gbps Internet service. Crazy people like me who spend their days involved in online marketing and helping clients grow their Internet presence are doing backflips, we’re so excited.
Google will be working with a number of local organizations including KCNext, the University of Kansas Medical Center and the Kauffman Foundation, among others, to build community relationships and deliver high speed Internet speeds that’ll hopefully make our heads spin.
As reported by Forbes, Google’s announcement states:
We’re planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We’ll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.
Although the service awaits approval from Kansas City’s Board of Commissioners, it’s unlikely given the excitement of the community and its leaders that there will be any roadblocks there, and rollout is expected to begin sometime in 2012.
Bo Fishback, VP of Entrepreneurship for the Kauffman Foundation said it nicely, when he remarked: “It’s going to be probably the most buzzed event in the history of Kansas City on the day it’s announced. That’s awesome. That’s pretty amazing.” Yes, Bo. Yes, it is.
Google’s goal is a simple one: Delivering great connectivity to ordinary people. And driving the economy around it. And, according to Google CFO, Patrick Pichette, making things “not sucky.”
As a long-time Kansas City resident, hearing Kevin Lo, GM, Google Access, say that the Google team responsible for selecting a city to launch this Internet service were blown away by the leadership of our city, Mayor Joe Reardon, the City staff, the utility and others involved in the process — well, it makes me pretty proud to say I live here.
As Pichette mentioned, connectivity that doesn’t suck is a huge step forward. For our community, for local business, for teachers and students, for entrepreneurs, for our Economic Development Council — really, for pretty much everyone.
Here’s the announcement from Google:
Sergey Brin, Google’s Co-President and Founder wraps up it nicely when he says, “It is a privilege to deploy his high speed network together with the people of Kansas City.”
Trust me, Sergey, it is our privilege, too.
Nerd on!