Google Fiber is at its base, an incredibly fast internet connection from Google. This video is a little out of date but its topic is the same. Besides Kansas City there are now 2 other cities which include Austin, Texas, and Provo Utah. There are plans to include 36 more cities but those are just plans.
Why is it in Kansas City?
Kansas City beat out over 1,100 other cities in a competition to get Google Fiber. Google said they loved the residents' enthusiasm. They did a similar thing with deciding what parts of Kansas City would get Google Fiber. Residents had to sign up and if there wasn't enough signatures from a certain area, that area didn't get Google Fiber. Only an area in North Kansas City, and a few areas in Overland park didn't have enough people sign up.
Also we are really built well for it. “We wanted to find a location where we could build quickly and efficiently. Kansas City has great infrastructure. And Kansas has a great, business-friendly environment for us to deploy a service. The utility here has all kinds of conduit in it that avoids us having to tear the streets open and a bunch of other stuff that really differentiates it from other places in the country" said Milo Medin, Google’s vice president of access services.
There were problems though, as Milo Medin states, “Let’s start with rights-of-way, governments across the country control access to the rights-of-way that private companies need in order to lay fiber. And government regulation of these rights-of-way often results in unreasonable fees, anti-investment terms and conditions, and long and unpredictable build-out timeframes. The expense and complexity of obtaining acess to public rights-of-way in many jurisdictions increase the cost and slow the pace of broadband network investment and deployment.” Kansas City was supposed to get Fiber in 2012, but there were disputes over the laying of Fiber. Eventually it was resolved, but it caused a big delay.
Relation to Human Geography
Well, everything about it relates. The laying of fiber and disputes over where to put it is infrastructure. Also, Google Fiber coming to Kansas City will create more jobs which puts money back into the economy.
With faster internet, we can connect to the world faster and easier not to mention the advantage having such a fast internet can give us. It will bring business and even put us on the IT map. The Wall Street Journal recognized Kansas City as an upcoming hub for information technology. The city is booming with entrepreneurs, small business and technology. In fact, in a study found by the TechAmerica Foundation, the number of Kansas City tech companies rose by 5% in 2009, trumping the growth rates of Silicon Valley, Boston and Austin. -
Now, we are underway getting the fiber up and having this wonderfully fast Internet. I hope it comes to my neighborhood soon, or my family at least gets an HD T.V. -_-
Have a great Summer Mrs. West!! Thanks for class and have fun grading those AP tests!
Citations:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/eliseackerman/2012/08/04/how-kansas-won-the-google-fiber-jackpot-and-why-california-never-will/
http://www.google.com/search?q=Google&safe=active&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=KIGIU6ToC4fIsATk64HwCg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1440&bih=775#q=Google+fiber&safe=active&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgrc=2ZLngVQtCi1hEM%253A%3B8iOdnEU-Z5NMEM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.uvureview.com%252Fmedia%252F2013%252F10%252Fgoogle-fiber-austin-texas.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.uvureview.com%252F2013%252F10%252F05%252Fgoogle-fiber-is-ready-for-launch%252F%3B580%3B388
https://fiber.google.com/newcities/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fiber
http://www.kansascity.com/2014/05/16/5027500/google-fiber-to-sell-in-all-but.html
http://www.gigabitchallenge.com/blogarticles/15-top-5-things-google-fiber-can-do-for-kansas-city-and-5-it-can-do-for-the-world
There were problems though, as Milo Medin states, “Let’s start with rights-of-way, governments across the country control access to the rights-of-way that private companies need in order to lay fiber. And government regulation of these rights-of-way often results in unreasonable fees, anti-investment terms and conditions, and long and unpredictable build-out timeframes. The expense and complexity of obtaining acess to public rights-of-way in many jurisdictions increase the cost and slow the pace of broadband network investment and deployment.” Kansas City was supposed to get Fiber in 2012, but there were disputes over the laying of Fiber. Eventually it was resolved, but it caused a big delay.
Relation to Human Geography
Well, everything about it relates. The laying of fiber and disputes over where to put it is infrastructure. Also, Google Fiber coming to Kansas City will create more jobs which puts money back into the economy.
With faster internet, we can connect to the world faster and easier not to mention the advantage having such a fast internet can give us. It will bring business and even put us on the IT map. The Wall Street Journal recognized Kansas City as an upcoming hub for information technology. The city is booming with entrepreneurs, small business and technology. In fact, in a study found by the TechAmerica Foundation, the number of Kansas City tech companies rose by 5% in 2009, trumping the growth rates of Silicon Valley, Boston and Austin. -
Now, we are underway getting the fiber up and having this wonderfully fast Internet. I hope it comes to my neighborhood soon, or my family at least gets an HD T.V. -_-
Have a great Summer Mrs. West!! Thanks for class and have fun grading those AP tests!
Citations:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/eliseackerman/2012/08/04/how-kansas-won-the-google-fiber-jackpot-and-why-california-never-will/
http://www.google.com/search?q=Google&safe=active&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=KIGIU6ToC4fIsATk64HwCg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1440&bih=775#q=Google+fiber&safe=active&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgrc=2ZLngVQtCi1hEM%253A%3B8iOdnEU-Z5NMEM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.uvureview.com%252Fmedia%252F2013%252F10%252Fgoogle-fiber-austin-texas.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.uvureview.com%252F2013%252F10%252F05%252Fgoogle-fiber-is-ready-for-launch%252F%3B580%3B388
https://fiber.google.com/newcities/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fiber
http://www.kansascity.com/2014/05/16/5027500/google-fiber-to-sell-in-all-but.html
http://www.gigabitchallenge.com/blogarticles/15-top-5-things-google-fiber-can-do-for-kansas-city-and-5-it-can-do-for-the-world