Google Fiber is coming to a few select cities, but not nearly enough to satisfy the demand.

So Baltimore, which "spent a year trying to convince Google to build a high-speed fiber network" only to lose out to Kansas City, is launching a search for a different broadband fix, reports the Baltimore Business Journal.

"The Board of Estimates on Wednesday voted to hire Magellan Advisors, a broadband Internet and community development firm, on a $157,000 contract that will provide the city with a range of options to pursue expanding its broadband fiber optic infrastructure," the Journal reported. "As part of that plan, Magellan is being directed to identify costs and risks associated with expanding city broadband infrastructure and 'identify key anchor tenants' that would lease portions of an expanded city-owned fiber optic network."

Besides missing out on Google Fiber, Baltimore's other problem is that most of its residents are locked into Comcast. City CIO Chris Tonjes, who came to Baltimore from Washington, DC a year ago, said, "I’m paying more here for lesser service." That was a reference to Comcast, which signed a contract "in 2004 with an expiration date of Dec. 31, 2016, that effectively makes the company the exclusive cable television provider in the city," the Journal wrote. "Given the franchise agreement was signed long before there was demand for data-heavy offerings such as streaming television and movie downloads, Comcast is under no contract-based obligation to significantly upgrade its infrastructure and remains shielded from competitors."

Baltimore has good reason to think competition could force Comcast to offer better (or at least cheaper) service. In Provo, Utah, where Google Fiber is on its way, Comcast is lowering its prices. According to a memo sent to employees, revealed by DSLReports.com, "Comcast has started offering Provo residents their Digital Premier channel bundle, 105 Mbps service, and either Xfinity Voice or Xfinity Home Secure for $120 a month for three years." Comcast is also offering lesser cable and broadband bundles for $70 and $100.

In the memo, Comcast acknowledges "a number of new and existing competitors." "[T]hings that are new, different, or controversial," Comcast sullenly noted, "generate more news coverage than those that are stable and growing."

We've asked Comcast for comment on the Baltimore and Provo stories and will provide an update if we hear back.