TechTown throws hat in Google Fiber ring

Thursday, March 25, 2010 | Source: metromode

Detroit is turning one of its stereotypical negatives of poverty into one of its primary selling points as it takes a shot at becoming one of the Google Fiber communities.

Officials from the TechTown business accelerator based in the city's New Center neighborhood are making the argument that Detroit has just about everything Google needs to test out all of the facets of its super-fast broadband experiment.

Detroit has both people who are struggling and without Internet access and affluent users who depend on it. The Motor City has both huge multi-national corporations and small businesses. It has both traditional businesses and cutting edge start-ups. Plus, it has all of the infrastructure in place in an area that would both help prove Google's business model and benefit greatly from its presence.

"We offer a diversity to the pilot that few others can offer," says Vita Merlotti, a SmartStart support leader at TechTown who is quarterbacking the effort. "We offer every end of the spectrum."

Google plans to build and test ultra-high speed broadband networks in a small number of communities across the country. These lines will stream data at 1 gigabit per second, about 100 times faster than what most Americans get through their current cable and DSL providers. Think of this pilot project as having the potential to give your Internet connection Millenium Falcon speed.

Several cities in Michigan have applied for the Google Fiber installations, including Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Saline/Pittsfield Township, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids.

Ann Arbor got on the bandwagon quickly, launching A2Fiber, a Facebook fan page, a YouTube contest, and other online efforts to rally support for its application. The University of Michigan and Ypsilanti are backing Ann Arbor's effort.

Source: Vita Merlotti, a SmartStart support leader at TechTown
Writer: Jon Zemke