Google has created a wave of excitement with its Community Fiber project announcement that has exceeded the buzz about the federal broadband stimulus program. This most likely happened because municipalities realized that the federal broadband stimulus programs that were part of the Recovery Act were primarily focused on regional and statewide projects.
Cities such as Columbia, SC; Greenville, SC; Greensboro, NC; Decatur, GA; Topeka, KS; Palo Alto, CA; Grand Rapids, MI and dozens of other cities have assembled groups of volunteers, assigned city staff and even hired marketing experts to assemble their “Google pitch”. The competition is intense, but these cities know the benefit that it will bring to their communities in terms of economic development and delivery of next-generation applications and content if they are selected.
Why is Google doing this? Is this the first step in their aim to become a national broadband provider? I don’t think so. Rather, it is a chance to show to the FCC and others at the federal level that open access broadband networks at 1 Gbps speeds, much higher than the incumbents are proposing, can be built and operated in such a way that multiple service providers can provide service over the same “pipe” and still make money. Google has lobbied the FCC in support of network openness but this principle is a glaring omission in the recently released National Broadband Plan. Thus, the Community Fiber project may be a “test case” for network openness at Gigabit speeds. As municipalities complete their Community Fiber applications this week, they should keep in mind that there are other options besides Google. Several communities in North Carolina have funded their community fiber networks through a financing vehicle called a “Certificate of Participation”. In addition, there are private equity firms that are actively reviewing business plans. Thus, consider the work that you have done preparing your Community Fiber application as laying the ground work to explore other options if you are not one of the “chosen few”.
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