Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Carnegie Mellon President Jared L. Cohon are seeking help from the community in persuading Google to select Pittsburgh as a site for an ultrafast, broadband Internet network.
The Google Fiber Communities program, announced on Feb. 10, would deploy and test fiber optics networks that would deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than those typically available to Americans today. Google will pay to install and operate the networks and would charge consumers competitive rates for the service.
“Every city knows that this designation would be the ultimate game-changer, spurring economic development wherever the network is built,” Ravenstahl said.
The "Bring Google Fiber to Pittsburgh" campaign, which uses the slogan "ready, willing, & able," has been launched to educate people about the ultra high-speed network and gather support. The community is urged to nominate Pittsburgh for a test site at www.pittsburghgoesgoogle.com.
“Google wants to be sure that the communities it selects to install this new ultrafast network are excited about the project and prepared to help the company explore the potential of this revolutionary resource,” Ravenstahl said. "We need local residents, companies and organizations to help make that absolutely clear to Google."
Through the website, individuals and organizations can submit comments, leave voicemails, or upload a video of support and ideas for how the network could be used. You can also upload a badge of support (pictured above) to a website.
The project is also seeking support via social media.
"We've incorporated different forms of technology and social media on the website to make it easy for Pittsburgh residents, businesses, and community groups to show their support for bringing the Google network to Pittsburgh," said Howard Stern, the City's chief information officer.
All responses to Google must be received by March 26.
More information on the project can be found at the following links:
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