City Applies for Google’s Fiber for Communities Program
March 27, 2010
The City of Falls Church has submitted an application to Google’s Fiber for Communities program, aimed at bringing higher-speed broadband service to one or more selected U.S. communities. “Our City is an ideal and manageable location for Google to demonstrate its new network,” said David Tarter, chairman of the Falls Church Economic Development Authority. “We have a highly educated population with strong federal government employment ties that would make great use of this opportunity.”
The City has put forward a strong proposal to be at the leading edge of the roll-out of this new platform so that our growing business community will have the tools they need to compete effectively in the global marketplace,” City Manager Wyatt Shields stated. Shields noted that Falls Church is already among the best connected cable and wireless broadband communities in the nation.
Andy Rankin, president of Falls Church-based Viget Labs, also stressed the business benefits of a faster fiber network: “As a technology company that works strictly in the Internet industry we can already imagine some of the new applications that could be implemented in a place with ultra-high-speed data access.”
From his perspective as a City resident, Rankin added: “Many people in our community already take advantage of tele-commuting as a way to reduce traffic and protect the environment. Having access to Google’s fiber network would greatly improve that experience.”
For more information about the City’s application contact the Falls Church Economic Development Office at 703-248-5491 (TTY 711) or rickgoff@fallschurchva.gov .
By Falls Church Times Staff
March 27, 2010
In addition to the benefits of this arrangement for work/business applications, a high-speed broadband network would facilitate the activities of those of us a little on the older side, who do a lot of volunteer work, by enabling meetings to take place online rather than physically. Also, those with grandkids could visit some of the time via teleconference. These are just a few more examples of how networking can replace car travel, and thereby help reduce our collective carbon footprint. Best of luck with the application.
Kudos for going after this, and for doing it without a lame PR stunt like giving someone the title of “Fiber Czar” — though, regardless of this fiber opportunity, I fully support renaming the City to “Googletown, VA” (for the right price, of course).
Hopefully our proximity to DC and unique independence will give us an advantage.