Google is planning to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country. Municipalities with populations from 50,000 to 500,000 have until today to get their bids in. But many cities are going well beyond the required Request for Information–they’re creating advocacy campaigns to interest the decision makers in Mountain View.
The city of Bellingham, WA is one that’s leaning heavily on video (hosted on Google-owned YouTube) to do the trick. According to Bellingham-based agency search consultant, David Wiggs, the city worked with
Hand Crank Films on the effort.
Portland, OR is another city with lots of video and a Web site dedicated to the effort. According to Mashable, Peoria, Sarasota, Austin, Charlottesville, Greensboro, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Greenville, SC and others are vying for Google’s fiber, believing that Google’s investment would be a growth engine for their local economy.
Let’s take a look at some more videos from the around the nation:
It’ll be interesting to see where Google goes. And what factors lead them there.