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Google Internet competition stirs interest in Niagara County
LOCKPORT, Mar 13, 2010 (The Buffalo News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Niagara County is cooking up a proposal to Google, the Internet search giant, for its planned experimental fiber-optic system that would bring ultrahigh-speed broadband service to the winning market.
Central Data Processing Director Larry L. Helwig said Niagara's proposal would cover the cities of Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda, the towns of Grand Island and Niagara, the Village of Lewiston, and parts of the towns of Lewiston, Wheatfield and Cambria.
Basically, the coverage map heads east along Route 31 between Military Road and Niagara County Community College, taking in the NCCC campus as well as the county-owned Vantage International Pointe industrial park on Lockport Road near Walmore Road in Wheatfield.
Google's proposal envisions Internet service at data transmission rates of 1 gigabit per second, which is 100 times faster than most Americans can currently access.
Related: Buffalo to seek fast Internet from Google
Christian W. Peck, the county's public information officer, said Jean O'Connell, the county's grant writer, brought the Google competition to the county's attention, and Helwig picked up the ball and ran with it.
Cities that have applied so far include Rochester; Cincinnati; Des Moines, Iowa; Portland, Ore.; Duluth, Minn.; Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor, Mich.; Gainesville, Fla.; Topeka, Kan.; Baton Rouge, La.; and Chapel Hill and Greensboro, N. C.
Helwig has to fill out a massive questionnaire posted on Google's Web site by March 26.
The 35 questions include requests for information about the availability of utility poles and underground conduits, regulatory issues, taxes and fees, along with population and economic data meant to show the likely demand for high-speed Internet service.
Helwig said the coverage area is based largely on the area of availability for Time Warner Cable's Roadrunner high-speed Internet service.
"It looks like they're trying to get to places where there's already infrastructure," Helwig said.
"This isn't a rural initiative. They're going someplace there's a demand," Peck said.
Niagara County's request is unusual because most of the communities that have entered the Google competition are sole municipalities.
"We're trying to think out of the box on this," Peck said.
Google says it will choose a small number of communities for its experimental fiber optics by the end of this year. The entrants must have populations between 50,000 and 500,000; Helwig said the areas including in the local entry have 120,000 to 140,000 people.
The County Legislature is to vote Tuesday on a resolution of support for the pitch.
Helwig said, "Google is saying they're going to competitively price their product."
It appears only Internet connections will be offered. "Their proposal doesn't say anything about television or about voice for phones," Helwig said.
tprohaska@buffnews.com
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