Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Eric Gruber, eGov Coordinator; John Williams, Network Manager
CC:
Date:	Feb. 22, 2010
RE:	Google Fiber for Communities

Google recently announced its intention to build and test ultra-high speed broadband networks across the United States in select locations with its Google Fiber for Communities experiment.

Several members of city staff have been contacted by Lawrence citizens to encourage the city to apply. Many communities across the United States have already begun encouraging citizen support. If selected, residents of Lawrence would have access to Internet speeds of 1 gigabit per second. That speed is 20 times faster than can be purchased locally and more than 100 times faster average broadband speeds in the U.S. In return, Google plans to offer this service at a “competitive price” although the FAQ for this project says that a price has not yet been determined.

In addition, Google has said that Google Fiber for Communities will operate as Open Access Networks, allowing other service providers to use Google’s network.

City staff has evaluated Google’s proposal and encourages the City of Lawrence to apply. By partnering with Google, the city would benefit from an information technology infrastructure that would support further economic development and further enrich the lives of Lawrence residents.

How the city can participate

The City of Lawrence is the right size for what Google desires to achieve for the project – “between 50,000 to 500,000” – and the city has other factors Google is interested in to get the project going. Google has stated that efficiency and speed are two key critical factors in how it selects a community. The city should determine what level of commitment it is willing to give, which likely would involve city resources (negotiation of right-of-way agreement, providing locates, soliciting public support for the project, etc.), in order to be selected.

Google is asking municipalities interested in being selected for the ultra-high speed broadband tests to submit an official response through its web site. The deadline to respond to Google’s Request for Information is March 26, 2010.

City officials are encouraged to examine the local government’s response submission page and direct staff on how to proceed. If desired, city staff can prepare a response and submit it on behalf of the City Commission.

How Lawrence’s residents can participate:

Lawrence’s residents also are encouraged to nominate the city to be selected by using Google’s form for residents and community groups to nominate Lawrence.

Supporters of Lawrence should click on the Nominate your community button on Google’s Request for Information page and nominate Lawrence.

ACTION:      Authorize staff to complete and submit the required questionnaire on behalf of the City Commission to nominate Lawrence as a potential location for the Google Fiber for Communities project, and authorize staff to solicit public support for the project, if appropriate.