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For Immediate Release • June 15, 2010
Staff Contact: Rigo Leal, Public Information Officer, 303-651-8840
View the most recent Press Releases.
JUNE 15, 2010 - How do you spell "Longmont Loves Google?" You gather hundreds of community members in red shirts, 80 cars and one satellite at Silver Creek High School, 4901 Nelson Road, on Friday, June 18 at 11 am.
With the help of DigitalGlobe, a Longmont-based satellite imagery company, a photo will be taken from outer space that spells out "Longmont (Heart) Google" in hopes of convincing Google that Longmont is the best place to locate its high-speed fiber optic project.
The Longmont community is invited to help with this effort. Event organizers need blue, green, read and especially yellow cars to spell out the message to Google and have it captured by the DigitalGlobe satellite.
The photo will be shot at precisely 12:27 pm as the satellite passes over the earth and Silver Creek High at this time.
Google recently announced its plans to launch an experiment to make Internet access better and faster for everyone. It plans to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country. Google promises the networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. It says it will offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people and is asking cities across America to submit an application to become the Google fiber test site.
With high-speed fiber already in the ground and as one of the few cities in the country with citywide Wi-Fi service, Longmont, Colorado blows away the competition in the Google fiber competition.
While many cities around the country are pleading for Google to come to their communities, Longmont instead is bragging about its lofty technological perch. Longmont's status as one of the few truly connected cities in Colorado and in the nation, makes it a strong contender in the Google ultra-high speed fiber sweepstakes. See Longmont's Google fiber Web page.
The key, according to Google, is to find a location where the network can be installed quickly and efficiently - it wants a partner that can offer a minimum of obstacles, cut through bureaucratic red tape and work cooperatively with local community members.
"Longmont owns its own electric utility," said Tom Roiniotis directors of Longmont Power and Communications. "Combine that with our existing 18-mile high-speed fiber ring and our experienced fiber network staff and Longmont can offer Google a quantum head start in developing the system they seek." Read about Longmont's fiber network in the Longmont Times-Call.
Colorado Senate President Brandon Shaffer recently endorsed Longmont as a perfect location for Google's fiber project. In a letter to Google officials, he writes "I believe that Longmont, Colorado, is your best choice to locate and partner with to create the shared vision of providing ultra high-speed broadband to the home." Read President Shaffer's letter to Google.
In addition to its high-tech attributes, Longmont resides in Boulder County, which boasts one of the highest concentration of software employees per-capita in the United States. Longmont also is home to high-tech companies like Seagate, Western Digital, Xilinx, Amgen and Google business partner, DigitalGlobe – an industry leader in satellite imagery. Read the reasons why Google should select Longmont to deploy its ultra high speed broadband network.
Google also is looking for a location with favorable climate conditions that would avoid any weather-related delays in building a ultra high-speed fiber network. With more than 300 days of sunshine per year and the semi-arid nature of the Colorado high plains, Longmont offers one of the best climates in the United States.
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