Memphis’ application for Google Fiber.

We need your help persuading Google to select Memphis for a project that could transform our city—the Google Networks fiber-to-the-home initiative. Cities around the country are expending tremendous effort to be selected in Google’s competition. This is a highly competitive undertaking. We need your help.

Google’s plan.

Google will build super-fast fiber optic broadband networks in a few communities around the U.S., promising up to a one gigabit per second service — three hundred times faster than typical home broadband over copper wire. More important, Google plans to take its fiber all the way to every home and business of their partner community regardless of a neighborhood’s commercial potential.

Imagine a promising inner-city 7th-grader collaborating with classmates around the world while watching a live university lecture. Think of a Memphis physician treating patients in remote clinics all over the country. Imagine home viewers downloading a high-definition, full-length feature film in less than five minutes. Universal, ultra high-speed Internet access will make all this possible—much more.

How YOU can help.

I will make the Google application on behalf of the City of Memphis. It’s extremely important that you support the city’s application by filing Google’s web questionnaire for community members, stating you are supporting Memphis, Tennessee.

You must have a Google account to access the questionnaire. If you don’t have a Google account, click here to sign up. If you have a Google account, click here to begin the short application. Follow the “Nominate Your Community” button. When you are finished, press “submit.”

As part of the competition, Google allows Memphis to link its application to more detailed, web-based information. The City of Memphis will mount a special website to explain why Memphis should be selected and offer testimonials from our supporters (like you).

Over the next two weeks, we will be gathering video testimonials, written letters of support, web content about points of interest, and links to the websites of our supporters. Please start by making a 1-2 minute video of you or your friends talking about why you believe Memphis is the best city for Google Fiber. Email the video file to mcan901@gmail.com and we will post it on our YouTube channel for Google to review.

Our basic message to Google is this: Memphis has made great strides building a framework for its community development (think Bioworks, the City Schools Teacher Effectiveness Initiative, the Memphis Coalition for Advanced Networking, and Memphis Fast Forward). We believe Google Networks will be nothing less than transformative for Memphians in all walks of life. In your comments, you might tell Google something about your organization or your interest and then describe how Google’s bandwidth (or the applications it inspires) will benefit your organization and Memphis in general.

Will you help us?