How Kansas City Won Over Google

Kansas City (KS) beat out 1,100 cities, largely because Google officials believe it can build efficiently, and "develop relationships with local government and organizations that can serve as a template for the use of this next-generation infrastructure," says Dan Martin, Global Communications and Public Affairs for Google.

As a result, Google plans to build a fiber broadband service in KCK, starting next year. It also plans to let other Internet service providers (ISPs) use their pipes to provide service. At the first community meeting to discuss the project, Google representatives told government officials and residents more about why their city was picked for the demonstration project. The company's interest, in part, was because the fiber optic infrastructure in Kansas City was overbuilt, the Kansas Health Institute reported. At the meeting, Matt Dunne, Google's head of community affairs, said that the overbuilding of pipe showed a great deal of foresight. The pipe dates back to the city's railroad heritage. Once construction begins, Dunne continued, the company expects minimal inconvenience to residents because Kansas City also has great utility poles. Mayor Joe Reardon told Bloomberg News his community won because it focused on the fundamentals and on their strengths, which include the combined Kansas City and Wyandotte County government (called the Unified Government), its consolidated control of the city and county's utilities and its solid public-private partnerships.