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Susan Molinari, Google's vice president for public policy and government affairs, met with Rep. Michael Grimm and Councilman Vincent Ignizio in Washington, D.C., on Monday. They discussed a potential rollout of Google Fiber in New York City through a pilot program on Staten Island.

(Councilman Vincent Ignizio's Office)

CITY HALL -- A push is underway to bring Google Fiber -- possibly the most sought-after Internet service in the country -- to New York City by means of Staten Island.

Elected officials from the borough are speaking with Google and City Hall about the potential of rolling out Fiber on Staten Island and eventually bringing faster connectivity to the rest of New York.

Councilman Vincent Ignizio and Rep. Michael Grimm sat down with Google officials earlier this week, and Borough President James Oddo met with representatives from the company in April.

"I would like to pilot Google Fiber on Staten Island to inject additional competition, faster bandwidth that would be available across all socio-economic demographics," said Ignizio (R-South Shore). "And that's what Staten Island is -- it's an Island which cuts across all demographics."

This may be an attractive notion for the city. Mayor Bill de Blasio's plans to curb inequality embrace the belief that high-speed and affordable Internet access should be a reality for all New Yorkers -- and Fiber could be a boon for such connectivity.

FIBER TO THE PREMISES

Google Fiber is a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) service that provides Internet up to 100 times faster than basic broadband. Free Internet is available through Google Fiber.

Right now the company is focused on building networks in Kansas City, Mo., Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah. Google is also exploring 34 other cities in nine metro areas across the country.

Bringing the service to all five boroughs would be difficult. Providers would need to string fiber along utility poles or bury it underground in tubing known as "conduit."

Constructing overhead wires is cheaper, but more vulnerable to outages. There's also limited space for poles in some New York neighborhoods. To put fiber underground, on the other hand, Google would have to traverse a sprawling conduit system beneath the densest areas of the city.

Stringing or laying down fiber would also mean navigating the rules and regulations of multiple government agencies -- not to mention causing disruptions in a hugely populated metropolis.

This is where Staten Island comes in. The borough is more similar to the cities and towns that Google is already exploring for Fiber.

"With such a large city like New York, it would be an enormous undertaking to wire up the entire city," Ignizio said. "Injecting more competition in the marketplace through higher bandwidth will allow Staten Island to be a showpiece for other major cities and -- ultimately -- for expansion throughout all of New York City."

A PILOT PROPOSAL FOR STATEN ISLAND

Ignizio and Grimm think some of the tougher rules and regulations could be bypassed or streamlined through a pilot program on the Island. The borough might also have the right infrastructure for a faster rollout.

"Staten Island has a lot of overhead lines, we still have a lot of poles," Grimm said. "So it's easier than having to go underground to put in the fiber."

On Monday, Ignizio and Grimm brought the idea of a pilot to Susan Molinari, the borough's former congresswoman who is now Google's vice president for public policy and government affairs.

"She very much loves Staten Island still, I can tell you that," Ignizio said. "She was very interested in having further discussions. There was some concern about the regulatory hurdles that New York City presents."

Oddo met with two Google officials on April 9 about the possibility of bringing Fiber to the borough.

"After all, we have a burgeoning tech community on Staten Island, which would love the Internet speeds that Google Fiber promises," Oddo said in a statement.

He said the conversation was "productive." They spoke about the technology and "the very real and challenging regulatory hurdles that we would have to overcome to bring it to New York City," Oddo said.

A Google representative said that the company talks to a lot of people about Fiber because there is so much interest in improving Internet speeds.

"But for now we're focused on our current Fiber cities," the representative said.

Still, a dialogue has already begun between City Hall and elected officials about the Staten Island pilot proposal. Ignizio said the administration was interested in having further discussions after the Thanksgiving weekend.

Both Ignizio and Grimm believe increasing Internet connectivity and boosting the city's tech sector is an issue where they can find common ground with de Blasio, despite their differing political ideologies.

"He has shown an interest in bringing tech jobs to New York City," Grimm said.

In an April speech at Internet Week, de Blaiso said the city must have universal, affordable, high-speed web access.

"We continue to collaborate with tech industry partners, community stakeholders, and elected officials from all five boroughs in pursuit of this goal," de Blasio spokeswoman Christina Levin said.

A TECHNOLOGICAL BUSINESS BOOM?

If the proposal is successful, Staten Island officials also see Fiber as a way to attract tech business.

"If we were able to convince Google Fiber to come to Staten Island, we would see a technological business boom in our borough like we've never seen before," Ignizio said.

Grimm said the Island has some unique challenges -- including transportation and access -- in becoming a tech hub. Bridge tolls don't help.

"So we have to think outside the box on how to grow our local economy," he said.

The elected officials want Staten Island to be a part of the tech community's national growth -- and they think Fiber could make the borough viable.

"We don't want to miss the boat," Grimm said.