Google Fiber Initiative

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"Mayor Don Ness has indicated the City of Duluth’s intent to pursue a partnership with Google to bring fiber-to-home connections to city residents. Google plans to select a community to test ultra-high speed connections at more than a gigabit per second later this year through a competitive process. "

Google Twin Ports Update

NTC will be hosting a panel discussion on the Google Twin Ports initiative: What Google Fiber means to local business and what they can do to support the effort. Check your calendars: Thursday, March 18, 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

Also Google Twin Ports needs volunteers this Saturday...

>>> "Google Twin Ports" 3/11/2010 10:03 AM >>>

Link: http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=362e3273032d2859dfe19ff9c&id=f633f26e79&e=3d770617a1

Dear Supporters,

The Google Twin Ports Fiber Initiative is holding two big events this

Saturday, and need hundreds of volunteers.

1.We're looking for hundreds of volunteers to drop by the old Carnegie

library at 101 W. 2nd St. Suite 200 in Duluth, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

this Saturday March 13, to pick up pledge cards. You then have the rest of

the weekend to distribute those pledge cards in your neighborhoods in Duluth

and Superior.

We give you an area of the city (near your home) to drop postcards off. You

won't have to speak with the homeowner. Just leave a card in the door. The

pledge cards are then filled out by the homeowners who indicate whether they

would purchase Google ultra-high speed fiber for about what they're paying

today for the Internet. Then the homeowners drop those cards in the mail

Monday.

2.An open casting call for the Google Twin Ports Movie will be held from 9

a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 13, also at 101 West Second Street,

Suite 200. Participants don’t need an appointment for the casting call. Part

of the movie will be shot during the Google Fest rally between 2 p.m. and 4

p.m. on March 20, at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center’s Lake

Superior Ballroom.

Thanks,

Patrick Garmoe

(218) 461-9655

http://googletwinports.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=362e3273032d2859dfe19ff9c&id=23ad19a316&e=3d770617a1

Press Release on Google Twin Ports

Google Twin Ports is an initiative led by the mayors of both Duluth and Superior, aimed at becoming one of a handful of locations in the United States for Google to build an ultra-high speed broadband network.If successful, it would allow residents of Duluth to pay about what they're paying now, for Internet 100 times faster than current top speeds. This would lead to all kinds of benefits for individuals and businesses, many of which haven't even been imagined yet.

For example, a rural health clinic near Duluth could stream three- dimensional medical images over the web, so the patient wouldn't have to drive several hours for an appointment to see a specialist. Students here could join others around the globe in watching a live lecture in 3D. Each person on the network could download a full high-definition movie in less than five minutes.

How fast? Google will 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. Google says they'll offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 people, and potentially up to 500,000 people.Google's main goals for this experiment are to spur interest in what's possible, if Internet speed is no object. Google wants to test a new way of building fiber networks and create an open network, so users will have more choice in

who they buy Internet access from. In addition, Google wants to watch developers create a whole variety of new applications that currently aren't practical to create, due to lack of bandwith.

The initial meeting on the idea organized by Duluth Mayor Don Ness, occurred Feb. 15. In attendance were about 12 local IT professionals and entrepreneurs. The team has now expanded to include four committees all tackling different aspects of the proposal – from preliminary engineering of the project, to getting the communities involved.

A Facebook group started before the first meeting has already grown to nearly 2,000 members, as of Feb. 17.

Everyone interested in this initiative is asked to show your support:

Visit http://www.googletwinports.com and click the "nominate our communities" button; join our Facebook Groups page, and join the Google Groups page, and keep up on the latest news on our blog http://blog.google.twinports.coop/.
Post your own video explaining why you want Google to come to the Twin Ports at http://www.youtube.com/group/googletwinports, and how you'd benefit from this.
Come to the public events where we'll be discussing the project. Our next one is scheduled for: 4 pm at the UMD Center for Economic Development, in the Technology Village: 11 East Superior Street, Suite 210, Duluth, MN 55802

For more information, call 218-260-2882.

Getting Started Information

On Feb 10. 2010, Google announced its plans to select a number of communities to partner with to test out a high speed fiber optic home internet connection. More details and a video can be found on the Google Blog. Responses to its Request For Information (RFI) from local governments and supporting nominations from other organizations will be taken until the March 26, 2010 deadline.

On Feb. 11, Duluth Mayor Don Ness announced: City of Duluth to aggressively pursue "Google Fiber” opportunity. A Facebook group quickly sprang up to support this initiative.