Cincinnati to Google: Please come here

There have been no mayoral pronouncements, no renaming of the city, no publicity stunts at all to get Google to launch its test site here for a network that promises Internet delivery at 100 times today's usual speeds.

Still, local officials say the Queen City has as good a chance as any to attract the Internet search giant's attention and investment in an experimental fiber-optic network for up to 500,000 users. Friday's the deadline for showing interest in the venture.

"Some cities are going the goofy route and being silly," Mayor Mark Mallory said Thursday, adding the stakes are far from silly.

"This for me is about promotion of the city and showing what we have to offer and why Cincinnati is such a great place. A potential partnership between Cincinnati and Google could be very, very beneficial."

Friday is the deadline for cities and towns to answer Google's "request for information" and for residents to weigh in via Gmail email accounts. Cincinnati is thought to be the only local municipality applying, but it's among hundreds nationally vying to be the test site.

Early last month, Google officials announced they plan to build a trial fiber-optic Internet network somewhere in the U.S. No firm timetables were given.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company plans to charge "below-market rates" for the test service, although Google officials have long said they are not trying to compete with existing Internet providers.

Cincinnati Bell, Time Warner Cable and Insight Communications already offer standard broadband Internet access throughout Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Google has said that it would use its higher-speed network to develop new applications.

A recent survey by Connect Ohio, a Columbus-based non-profit advocating for the spread of broadband Internet access, says that the average download speed among consumers in Southwest Ohio is 2 megabits per second - fast enough to download a three-minute song in less than a minute.

Google's search for a test site has set off a storm of publicity-seeking stunts from towns and cities ranging from Topeka, Kansas, where the mayor temporarily renamed the city "Google, Kansas," to Greensboro, N.C., which is spending $50,000 to market itself directly to Google and provide a huge gift basket to the company.

The mayor of Duluth, Minn., joked about naming male babies "Google Fiber." Sarasota, Fla., has renamed itself "Google Island." Gastonia, N.C.'s mayor made a widely viewed YouTube video, likening the situation to going out on a date and mentioning that the city had already nicknamed itself "G-Town."

Cincinnati officials have set up a Facebook fan page for "Googlenati," which now has nearly 2,020 fans, and a Twitter feed with 36 followers. But apart from a few press releases, including a last-minute reminder Thursday for area residents to provide support, city officials have focused on simply filling out the application.

There has been no accounting from Google of how many supporters have commented for Cincinnati or any other city.

Cincinnati's application was still being finalized late Thursday and was not yet available for public review, city officials said. Mallory said the cost to prepare the application was negligible.

"This is a really efficient way, if we are successful, of bringing a lot of positive attention to the city," Mallory said.

One Northern Kentucky resident pledged his support Thursday, if only to bring greater connectivity to the entire region.

"A rising tide floats all boats," said Mark McFadden, a software designer from Erlanger. "It could open up better connectivity with larger cities such as Chicago, Atlanta and even San Francisco.

"And to be honest, I'm kind of glad the city didn't do any silly stunts, because that's not what this is all about."

Source: cincinnati