A lot of cities are disappointed this morning that they did not get chosen for Google’s big experimental fiber optic network. But Kansas City, Kansas is elated because they, among over 1000 cities competing, are the winner. Google says that Kansas City (city motto: “No no, we’re in Kansas. We’re the other one. No, you’re thinking of Missouri.”) (not really)
“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 in,” (Milo Medin, Google’s vice president for access services) said.
Google said it will invest tens of millions of dollars in the system. It will use existing utility poles and underground conduit to deploy fiber for the system. That infrastructure lets the company save money and avoid ripping up streets, Medin said.
Google plans to offer service beginning in the first quarter of 2012.
Feeling particularly sheepish, Topeka, Kansas which officially changed its name to Google for a whole month to try to win the contest. Not only did they lose, they lost to a state rival. A frustrated Topeka said they’ll change their name to Bing next, then Yahoo, and then finally become Blekko, Kansas. (not really)
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