March 20, 2011 - 4:36pm
Dingell expresses support for Michigan's 15 district as possible Google Fiber trial location
BY NICOLE ABER
Congressman John Dingell (D–Ann Arbor) recently sent a letter to Google CEO Eric Schmidt expressing his support for Google Fiber — a new ultra-high speed broadband Internet network — to be tested out in towns within Michigan’s 15th district.
Both Ann Arbor and the Pittsfield Township area are candidates for the Google Fiber experiment, according to a press release sent out today from Dingell’s office.
In the letter to Schmidt, which was included in the press release, Dingell wrote that Ann Arbor is an exceptional candidate for Google Fiber because of the University’s innovation in various fields, which would greatly benefit from the cutting-edge technology.
“The presence of the University of Michigan — encompassing everything from their engineering school to the massive Health System — requires enormous amounts of bandwidth,” Dingell wrote in the letter.
During its meeting on Monday, the Ann Arbor City Council approved a resolution requesting that the city be chosen as one of the Google Fiber test sites.
Dingell wrote in the letter to Schmidt that the students of Ann Arbor would greatly benefit from the service, allowing them to further develop their skills and interests.
“Providing the ultra-high speed broadband would allow the next major technological innovators — whether in business, health, energy, or academia — to also grow out of the 15th District’s diverse environment,” he wrote in the letter.
Dingell also communicated his support for the area of Pittsfield and Saline Townships, which is also in the running. He wrote that these are “classic American towns” that would greatly benefit from Google Fiber.
In addition to competing with another area within Michigan’s 15th district, Ann Arbor is also up against other cities across the country including Topeka, Kan., which has been reported to have changed its name to “Google” this month at the mayor’s request.
According to a March 15 Michigan Daily article, Google has not yet declared how many cities it will choose for the Google Fiber trial project.
