March 6, 2010

The city of Maricopa is looking at possibly joining the fray of hundreds of cities across the country looking to hop on the Google one-gigabyte-per-second Internet speed bandwagon.

Google announced nearly three weeks ago its intention to select several cities across the country to build a fiber-optic infrastructure with Internet speeds of up to one gigabyte per second.

If Maricopa were selected, Google would spend millions of dollars to install a network of fiber-optic lines throughout the city, which would make available Internet connections 100 times faster than DSL and cable.

Google has not publicized how much it would invest in the project or what kind of cash commitment would be required from the chosen municipalities; however, the application does ask if a city would be able to provide necessary right of way.

Maricopa is going to get some stiff competition to entice the company best known for its search engine to come to town.

More than 200 cities from Alaska to New York have launched Facebook pages in attempt to galvanize community support, and more are popping up everyday.

“Our chances of landing the project may only be a needle in a haystack, but we can’t be told no if we don’t apply,” said Councilman Carl Diedrich.

Currently, there are four Internet service providers in Maricopa offering speeds of up to 20 megabytes per second, which is higher than the nationwide average of 2.3 megabytes.

“We are not applying for this because of the job our current providers are doing in the community, but because of the opportunity it would bring to Maricopa,” Diedrich said.

A one-gigabyte Internet speed would allow doctors in rural health clinics to stream three-dimensional medical imaging over the Web while discussing a unique condition with a specialist in New York.

For educational purposes, it would allow a student to collaborate with other users from around the world while watching live 3-D video of a university lecture, or it could lead to more functional virtual classrooms.

The home user could download full-length movies in less than five minutes, and virtual offices on the connection could make many brick-and-mortar buildings a thing of the past.

“This technology would give Maricopa a competitive advantage in attacking a number of employers, such as Internet servers or other technology-based industries,” Diedrich said.

Diedrich says two advantages the city may have is a lack of currently existing structures that would have to be retrofitted for the service and a highly connected workforce.

“The labor studies done by the city have shown we are an educated community with a high level of technical skills,” Diedrich said. “I think our community has the type of customers they are looking for.”

As far as the lack of infrastructure, Diedrich said Goggle could plan its network around new structures being planned for Maricopa, such as the new Central Arizona College campus. He also believes the redevelopment district would be a good place to develop the network.

There is no financial commitment attached to the application being filed by the city, and, even if selected, the city would have the right to refuse participation in the project.

The application process is scheduled to end March 26, and Google will make its selections on the communities where it will launch service later in the year.

While Diedrich is a big supporter of the project, the city’s economic development manager, Danielle Casey, said she has received a flood of e-mails from citizens expressing their interest.

While the city is taking steps to flag Google’s attention, those in the community can also nominate their community. To do so, visit www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/instructions.

“Any help we can get from citizens to petition Google for this project to come to Maricopa would be great,” Diedrich said.

Watch a video from Google: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wusklcNKDZc