Mayor Ralph Becker announced that Salt Lake City is among a short list of cities working with Google to explore the possibility of bringing the ultra-high speed Google Fiber broadband network to the city. Improving broadband speed and choice for residents has been a priority for Salt Lake City for years, including participating in the 2010 application process to become one of the first three Google fiber cities.
Today’s average American broadband speed is 9.8 Megabits per second. In contrast, Google Fiber could bring Salt Lake residents access to “Gigabit” Internet connections up to 1,000 Megabits per second – or up to 100 times faster than basic broadband.
“Salt Lake City is a leader in innovation and community and economic development,” Mayor Becker said. “Our residents value education and entrepreneurship, and we recognize the value in connecting people with big ideas and with each other, whether across town or across the world.
“There is no question that abundant, high-speed broadband access will make our community stronger, and I am excited to announce this partnership and begin to lay the foundations of economic development for the future of Salt Lake City,” Mayor Becker said.
Starting this week, Google will work closely with Salt Lake City on a joint planning process to explore what it would take to build a brand new fiber-optic network capable of delivering these gigabit speeds throughout Salt Lake City. Google will begin compiling a detailed study of local factors that might affect construction plans. Simultaneously, city leaders will begin meetings with Google to discuss what it would take to plan and prepare the city for a fiber project of this scale.
“Communities with abundant high-speed Internet grow stronger because there’s greater potential to create jobs, drive economic growth, and help students and families get access to essential resources” said Kevin Lo, General Manager for Google Fiber. “Salt Lake City leaders are stepping up to see what they can do to make their cities ready for the fiber-optic networks that are the future. We look forward to working with Salt Lake City in the coming months to see if we can build the next chapter of the Internet together, on gigabit speeds.”
Salt Lake City has been invited to join cities such as Portland, San Antonio and Nashville in this process. Google will provide an update on which cities will get Google Fiber by the end of this year. According to Google Fiber, the intent is to bring the service to as many participating cities as possible.
Google Fiber is an Internet and TV service that provides Internet connectivity that is up to 100x faster than the basic broadband, along with hundreds of HD TV channels. Google Fiber is currently available in Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas City, Missouri and Provo Utah, and will be available in Austin, Texas later this year. For more information about this announcement, visit the Google Fiber blog at https://fiber.google.com/
