OKC, Tulsa make pitch for Google broadband
By D. Ray Tuttle
The Journal Record
Posted: 09:17 PM Friday, March 12, 2010


TULSA – Oklahoma City and Tulsa are making a pitch for Google to build and test ultra-high-speed broadband networks in the cities. The Google project could provide service to as many as 500,000 people each in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Tulsa launched its campaign for community involvement on Friday, asking Tulsans to fill out an online survey before March 26.

“To be selected, we need community support,” according to the city’s statement. “By filling out a survey, Tulsa will be one step closer to improving our broadband network and creating economic development opportunities in all areas of our city.”

The announcement directed Tulsans to fill out the community support survey at Google Fiber for Communities: Think big with a gig. A Google account is needed to participate and it is free to sign up.

Oklahoma City is assembling a task force to apply to partner with Google, said Kristy Yager, Oklahoma City public information and marketing director.

“We are moving on it,” Yager said. “We are working to establish a Web site.”

Since Feb. 10, Google has sought applications from communities across the U.S. to be one of numerous trial locations across the country.

Oklahoma City deserves the broadband project because of the investment it is making through projects like MAPS, among other factors, Yager said.

“We have a vibrant medical community that could certainly make use of the technology,” Yager said.

Tulsans and Tulsa businesses would improve their Internet access and promote Tulsa as a city on the cutting edge of communication and technology once it obtained the network, said Kim MacLeod, Tulsa director of communications.

A network for high-speed broadband would provide Internet speed more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today. The service would be offered to Tulsans at a price – maybe through a lease arrangement with providers like Cox or AT&T, MacLeod said.

While Oklahoma City has a high penetration rate of people plugged into the World Wide Web, there are several other underserved communities that could make use of the technology, Yager said.

Also, Oklahoma City’s low population density might hurt the city’s chances, Yager added.

“I do not know that Google would lay fiber-optic cable in all 600 square miles,” Yager said. “But the possibility of getting high-speed broadband could change the way Oklahoma City does business.”

Google is not commenting on specific cities or the submissions at this stage, said a Google spokesperson, who requested anonymity.

“We plan to announce a target community or communities this year. We’ll use responses to our request for information to determine where building our network will have the greatest positive impact,” the spokesperson said.

“We’ll offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people,” the Google spokesperson said. “We will allow third parties to offer their own Internet access services, or other data services, on our open network. It’s too early to say how much we plan to charge for consumer access to our network.”

Google plans to develop the experimental network, although the company will likely work with a variety of outside partners.

“Our focus right now is on identifying the right community partners. We’ll be sharing more information about our techniques as this project progresses,” the company spokesperson said.