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Posted on Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 2:15 p.m.

Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township, Saline lose out on Google fiber project

By Nathan Bomey

(This story has been updated several times with additional information.)

The city of Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township and the city of Saline lost out on a high-speed Internet network Google had said it would construct in a community that could demonstrate the network was needed and would generate innovation.

Google said in a blog post this morning that it had selected Kansas City, Kansas, as the destination for its new fiber optic network, which will provide "Internet access more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have today."

googlesign.jpg

Google employs about 250 workers in Ann Arbor but won't be building its fiber optic network here.

Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com

"We’ve signed a development agreement with the city, and we’ll be working closely with local organizations, businesses and universities to bring a next-generation web experience to the community," Google Vice President for Access Services Milo Medin wrote.

For the Ann Arbor area, winning the Google fiber project was a long shot. Google received applications from more than 1,100 communities. The city of Ann Arbor filed an application, while Saline and Pittsfield submitted a joint application.

"In selecting a city, our goal was to find a location where we could build efficiently, make an impact on the community and develop relationships with local government and community organizations. We’ve found this in Kansas City," Google said. "We’ll be working closely with local organizations including the Kauffman Foundation, KCNext and the University of Kansas Medical Center to help develop the gigabit applications of the future."

The decision comes a year after Google set off a gold rush of sorts, as communities scrambled to portray themselves as a destination for the fiber project.

Google has said that it will construct the network and sell access to Internet service providers, which will turn around and provide access to residents and businesses.

The company wants to study the network's effect on innovation by watching to see whether faster speeds lead to creative mobile software applications, for example.

Ingenex Digital Marketing CEO Derek Mehraban, who helped lead a grassroots community campaign called "A2Fiber," said he was disappointed at Google's decision.

"Having super-high-speed Internet would really allow us to continue to be on the leading edge, whether it’s through streaming video, whether it’s through real-time interaction," he said. "It’s all about communication and speed. It would just allow us to do more cool things. I don’t think we fully knew the potential of what it could do. Nobody’s dealt with Internet that fast. I think it would make us more of a showplace of technology. Companies would come here for things like that."

Google had previously said that it would consider "local factors that will impact the efficiency and speed of our deployment, such as the level of community support, local resources, weather conditions, approved construction methods and local regulatory issues. We will also take into account broadband availability and speeds that are already offered to users within a community."

In the year since Google announced the fiber contest, interest in the A2Fiber group surged, and the group compiled 1,386 Twitter followers and 19,230 Facebook fans.

"The city of Ann Arbor, the business community and the tech community put together a great effort. I’m still pleased at the rallying of troops that came together in Ann Arbor. That was pretty special," Mehraban said.

Ann Arbor's application drew support from the city of Ypsilanti and an endorsement from the University of Michigan.

Ann Arbor City Council member Christopher Taylor, D-3rd Ward, said the process of pursuing the fiber project was worthwhile.

"I regret that Google didn’t choose Ann Arbor for its Fiber-to-the-Home pilot," Taylor said in an e-mail. "I remain, however, very proud of the Ann Arbor/U-M application, and am grateful to all who worked so hard and so well together in the effort to make our vision of a fiber-wired Ann Arbor a reality."

The application by Pittsfield, Saline and the Saline school district never enjoyed the digital momentum that A2Fiber piled up. The "Pittsfield Township + Saline = Googleville" Facebook page has 277 fans, and the group's Twitter account has 31 followers.

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.

Comments

Terminal

Thu, Mar 31, 2011 : 3:26 a.m.

Told ya so! All Google did was get a boatload of free publicity while turning everyone into salivating cheerleaders led by Mayor Hieftje.

Kai Petainen

Thu, Mar 31, 2011 : 2:08 a.m.

i thought A2 was a shoe-in for it... with the city/university support and stuff. bummer. but, congrats to Kansas City.

CynicA2

Thu, Mar 31, 2011 : 1:25 a.m.

Let's see.... 1 in 1100 chance! That's almost as good as your chances of getting a given job around here, or driving down a given A2 street without hitting a pothole or three! The only surprising thing is that so much time, energy and (presumably) money, went into this fruitless quest.

AA

Thu, Mar 31, 2011 : 1:16 a.m.

Let me tell ya folks . . . in the big picture, this is totally insignificant. You'll see . . . .

Alan Goldsmith

Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 7:57 p.m.

"The application by Pittsfield, Saline and the Saline school district never enjoyed the digital momentum that A2Fiber piled up." I think, that losing is losing, regardless of all the 'digital momentum'. And both proposals were LOSERS.

Alan Goldsmith

Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 7:55 p.m.

Just reward for The Mayor and the City snubbing the surrounding areas and submitting their own application and not working well with the townships and neighboring cities. Maybe it's time we DID abolish the city governing process and merge with Washtenaw County?

Technojunkie

Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 7:26 p.m.

There's more than enough talent locally to build what Google proposed. It's just a matter of bankrolling it and getting cooperation from local governments. Well, that and fending off AT&amp;T's lawyers, something that Google was in a far better position to do. I recommend these two local blog posts on the subject: <a href="http://puck.nether.net/~jared/blog/?p=102" rel='nofollow'>http://puck.nether.net/~jared/blog/?p=102</a> <a href="http://puck.nether.net/~jared/blog/?p=84" rel='nofollow'>http://puck.nether.net/~jared/blog/?p=84</a> If some wealthy Ann Arborites want to invest in an old-fashioned dividend paying utility, this would make for a very good one. No, I'm not going to do it but I'll buy a subscription to the service if it gets built.

swmprnt13

Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 7:15 p.m.

Sprint/Nextel's Headquarters are in Overland Park, KS which is a suburb of Kansas City. They all ready have a substantial fiber ring around the city, and Google is probably just piggy backing on existing fiber installs and then they will be able to call it there own project. Just ask our friends at I2 hear in Ann Arbor.

aaww

Thu, Mar 31, 2011 : 2:17 a.m.

I thought so, too. Well, congratulations to Kansas City. Makes no sense to be a sour loser in this case.

dotdash

Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 7:14 p.m.

&quot;Everything's up to date in Kansas City, they've gone about as fer as they can go...&quot; Still, it would have been nice for AA to go that fer.

Michael Appel

Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 7:14 p.m.

I thought everything was (already) up to date in Kansas City.

Roadman

Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 7:13 p.m.

Ann Arbor would have been an ideal location but let's face it, it was a long shot with so many communities applying. Congrats to KC for getting the project.

applehazar

Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 7:12 p.m.

No surprise here. Can't ok a Costco building - Google knows this area so this was a no brainer.

5c0++ H4d13y

Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 6:42 p.m.

I'm sure they looked at the regulatory and governmental burdens of Ann Arbor and chose a different state.

Terminal

Thu, Mar 31, 2011 : 3:29 a.m.

Please enumerate those regulatory and governmental burdens that Google would face in Ann Arbor instead of spouting more Republican nonsense.

braggslaw

Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 6:30 p.m.

That's too bad... It would have injected some much needed economic activity.