Help bring Google Fiber to Richmond!
The City of Richmond is tossing its hat in the ring as Google chooses a small number of trial locations to serve as test markets for Google Fiber, an ultra-high speed broadband network. And you can help RVA make the cut!
The City of Richmond is tossing its hat in the ring as Google chooses a small number of trial locations to serve as test markets for Google Fiber, an ultra-high speed broadband network.
What does “ultra-high speed” mean? We’re talking 1 gigabit per second, around 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today.
So, how do we make this happen? Well, a big part of it is up to you, THE CITIZENS.
Richmonders (lots and lots and lots of them) need to make it known that they want Google Fiber in their city. There are several ways you can do that, all of which are outlined on gigarva.com, but let’s go ahead and go over them while we’ve got your attention…
- Nominate Richmond! This lets you talk directly to Google and let them know why RVA is the perfect spot for Google Fiber.
- Follow 1GbForRVA on Twitter (and use #gigarva when talking about it).
- Become a fan on Facebook.
- Tell all of your friends. And then tell your friends’ friends. And then tell some more people after that.
The City of Richmond will be submitting its final application for the project on March 26, but support from residents is key in Google’s selection process — they aren’t going to come here if community support (and enthusiasm!) isn’t extremely evident.
Go forth! Nominate! Tweet! Facebook! Chat it up!
Let’s DO this, RVA!
For more information on Google Fiber and why Richmond should have it, stop by gigarva.com.
-
Recommend this
on Facebook -
Report an error
-
Subscribe to our
Weekly Digest
Valerie Catrow
Valerie Catrow is editor of RVAFamily, mother to a mop-topped first grader, and always really excited to go to bed.
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
http://www.oregonhill.net/2010/02/15/can-google-help-with-oregon-hills-internet-service/
the facebook link returns ‘ The page you requested was not found.’
HELP ME HELP YOU.
I emailed this to our Esteemed City Council President about a month ago and got a very canned / cool response. I’m fired up about this, and I’d love to see a serious push for it. The deadline is fast approaching though, so if city council and the mayor are serious about this, they’re gonna have to, you know, actually MOVE for once.
The Facebook link is fixed.
PS: big ups to whoever created the website / FB / twitter and is making this effort a serious one. Way to go! :)
I also agree with this editorial:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/194138-the-national-broadband-plan
everything worth while is painful at first…
Caitlin – what was the cool response? Not interested?
The KG reply email just said, “Thank you for the information. We’ll read and discuss it.” Sort of the standard response I’ve gotten from politicians.
Admittedly, I am the type of person who writes letters to our elected officials, so most of the responses I get from almost everyone are of the same cool “Thanks for the input” kind of reply. I am probably flagged as a wingnut because I actually think that democracy should be an interactive process between voters and politicians.
Well, either way, I’m glad someone made this a big deal. I am excited about the possibility. (Full disclosure, I also emailed this to the Greater Richmond Partnership and heard nothing back from that group.)
If we’re able to convince Google to supply us with 1Gbps, we could potentially fill in the gaps with a unified wireless mesh network which allows each wireless node, basically, an extension of the overall network. I’ve done this before is several rural localities with great success as non-profit ventures (network access is subsidized by banner ad advertising on the captive portal page).
Here’s an example of very cost-effective gear ($30 per radio):
http://www.open-mesh.com/