More than 1,000 cities across the nation have applied to Google to be the first to test its hyperspeed fiber-optic network. Along the California Central Coast, a coalition of public and private interests from Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties are taking a different approach to obtaining high-speed Internet. They have submitted a $56 million grant for money from the $7.2 billion allocated to improving broadband access in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funding would go to install 112 miles of underground fiber and 200 miles of above-ground linking, making Internet speeds 10-100 times faster in the region than they currently are.
The goal is to create an open network, which would allow municipalities to provide broadband as a utility, just like electricity or water. The hyperspeed connection would be an enormous boon to local industries, rural communities and educational institutions, which are currently hampered by lower speeds.
The proposal, which includes $12 million in matching funds from private groups and local and state authorities, has won the support of the Governor’s Office, the state’s Chief Information Officer, local schools and colleges including UCSC, and a vast assortment of economic and governmental institutions. Cruzio, a local internet service provider, is taking the lead on the grant proposal. Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel.
