Google: More than 1,100 U.S. communities are vying for fiber network
Washtenaw County communities are among about 1,100 in the U.S. that made Friday's deadline to apply to Google to be considered for its experimental broadband network.
Ann Arbor residents gathered on the Diag Friday in a "flash mob" to underscore the community's support behind the application. Pittsfield Township and Saline also announced their joint intention to apply.
Google said it expected about 600 applications.
But on the company's blog, the search engine giant reported Friday evening that the final count topped 1,100 communities.
Next up, according to the blog: "Over the coming months, we'll be reviewing the responses to determine where to build. As we narrow down our choices, we'll be conducting site visits, meeting with local officials and consulting with third-party organizations. Based on a rigorous review of the data, we will announce our target community or communities by the end of the year."
Read the rest of the blog post here.
Comments
Peregrine
Sun, Mar 28, 2010 : 12:22 p.m.
@nonyo: You misunderstand. Google isn't offering free internet. They're offering 1 gigabit per second speeds for a "competitive price".
JimB
Sat, Mar 27, 2010 : 11:50 p.m.
What a brilliant idea Google had; create huge interest in its new product so much so that communities organize and cities pretty much fight for the right to host this roll out. This is an example of modern guerilla marketing techiques at its best to sell a product.
nonyo
Sat, Mar 27, 2010 : 10:39 p.m.
I'm pretty sure Google could afford, and still make a profit, if they would extend the fiber to all who applied. Information should be free.
Jared Mauch
Sat, Mar 27, 2010 : 6:59 p.m.
Clearly there is interest in the community. Perhaps AT&T will abandon it's copper network soon enough to deliver fiber to its customers. Here is hoping that there will be an alternative to dial-up in my area. (Satellite is not an option, HA!)
Technojunkie
Sat, Mar 27, 2010 : 12:49 p.m.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/03/how-amsterdam-was-wired-for-open-access-fiber.ars We don't necessarily need Google to do this though it sure would be nice.