March 16, 2010 --City officials announced on Monday that Santa Monica is entering a competition to be part of a trial program for a Google broadband network promising Internet speeds of 1GB per second, a rate the company says is more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have today.

A press release issued by the City says Santa Monica is ideal for the program because it is “a diverse, sustainable and plugged-in community with a robust medical sector and a wealth of learning opportunities for all ages and income levels.”

Jory Wolf, Santa Monica’s chief information officer, said, “We are in a position to be an excellent candidate for Google’s pilot program. We already have fiber optic cable throughout much of the city for delivering government information and services to the public and for the applications envisioned in Google’s initiative.”

Google’s Fiber for Communities program has received national attention. The City of Topeka, Kan. unofficially changed its name to Google for the month of March in an effort to increase its chances.

The deadline to submit the application is March 26. Those wanting to make comments for inclusion in the City’s application should send an e-mail to: isd@smgov.net

Information Systems Department
1685 Main Street, Room 110
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: (310) 458-8381
Fax: (310) 395-2343

Those wanting to support Santa Monica’s application can do so by nominating the City at www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/
public/options or by posting comments on the contest’s Facebook wall at
www.facebook.com/ 1GBinSM

Santa Monica is ideal for the program because it is “a diverse, sustainable and plugged-in community with a robust medical sector and a wealth of learning opportunities for all ages and income levels.”
    Jory Wolf