I was sad to read tonight that former congressman Charlie Wilson (D-TX) died of a heart attack today at the age of 76. Wilson represented east Texas in the U.S. House and was instrumental in funding the Afghan mujahedeen in their fight against Soviet occupation.
I was just reading his Wikipedia entry two weeks ago to learn more about him. Sorry to hear that a man who was so full of life lives no more.
The announcement today of Google Fiber to the home was covered in today’s Washington Post:
The company said it will build fiber-to-the-home connections to a small number of locations across the country that will deliver Internet access speeds of 1 gigabit per second. It will take bids from municipalities beginning through late March to determine what areas would be part of its experiment. Google said access prices for consumers would competitive and that its network would reach at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people. A source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the company doesn’t currently have plans to expand beyond the initial tests but will evaluate as the tests progress.
Having one’s city wired for blazing-fast Internet access would be a huge shot in the arm for a municipality. I sure hope it comes to Raleigh!
I’ve started a grass-roots effort to help Google identify where to set up it’s 1Gb fiber Internet trial run. Check out Google To The Home.
Too subtle?
Today Google announced that it will be stringing fiber around a few lucky cities to study how ultra-high-speed Internet service might be used. Speeds of up to 1Gb will be offered and competitively-priced with fiber being deployed directly to the home.
I think the Triangle would be ideal with its concentration of networking companies (Cisco), storage companies (EMC, NetApp), software companies (IBM), and pharmaceutical companies. Raleigh was one of the North Carolina municipalities to oppose Time Warner’s efforts to close off competition, so I would hope the city would be looked upon favorably.
Google expects interested municipalities to respond to the RFI via the web, but you don’t have to be a city official to express interest. Google provides a link for interested residents to nominate their city.
Let the jockeying begin!
