|
Chico explores Google opportunity
CHICO, Mar 11, 2010 (Chico Enterprise-Record - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
In simple terms and drawn-out techy explanations, Chico said Wednesday it badly wants Google's high-speed broadband service.
Likewise, speakers in the crowd of more than 125 who gathered at Chico State University acknowledged it may be more about what Google wants from Chico.
Mentioned during the two-hour event were benefits for students and the medical community, for entertainment and business, for school children and competition that would come from Internet service more than 100 times faster than that available here.
The community forum organized by Chico Economic Planning Corp., the city and Chico State aired local ideas about how Google's community challenge would fit here.
Google could benefit by rolling out its high-speed broadband in Chico, a community like hundreds around the country. Make it work in Chico and repeating that success will be more likely elsewhere, it was suggested.
Several speakers noted that it could be impossible to conjecture what high-speed broadband could mean to innovation.
"It's not what you want it to be, but what your kids expect of it in 20 years," suggested Brad Ledford. "We need 13-year-olds in here.
"We need to get out of the mentality of monetizing it, but how it would change the world."
Alan Chamberlain pointed out several decades ago it would have been impossible to imagine Internet businesses like Chico's Improvement Direct, that sells home improvement products online, or Travidia, which creates
online advertising capabilities for newspapers.
Others ventured a guess about what high-speed broadband could do for the present and the future.
Uninterrupted and unfaltering Internet service would be a plus.
"On windy days, I can't count on it," said Jamie Grettum, who deals with employees as far away as Peru. "I pray to the Internet gods that my Internet doesn't go out."
She suggested extremely high-speed broadband would allow moms and dads to stay at home with their families while holding productive jobs.
Charles Weaver noted "private cloud" storage could be possible, an extremely secure place where a community's key medical, bank documents, governmental and other critical information could be stored on virtual servers.
An Enloe Medical Center employee suggested that physicians could be connected to speakers, forums and conferences, for interactive conversations on medical issues and continuing education.
A grandfather suggested that he could watch his granddaughter at preschool without a jerky picture.
Two speakers mentioned video conferencing. One said it was hard to manage people at distant locations over the phone. Another said company employees travel around the country to visit with clients.
A financial advisor said his client has been seeking the best "Internet Protocol" IPv6, and that's provided by Google.
Arts and culture offered unexplored areas, from orchestras throughout the world playing together, to schoolchildren "visiting" museums around the world.
Bill Post, Chico State vice provost for information resources, suggested instructors have made tremendous use of technology, but they can't imagine what more muscular capability could mean.
There still are questions, such as what costs a selected city might incur. It was suggested that federal stimulus money might help with those.
To several questions about Google's proposal, the answer was "We don't know," said moderator Cathy Emerson, who has been involved in broadband studies of Northern California.
"If Google passes up Chico, we've found there is too much opportunity for us not to follow through with this," said Emerson.
Earlier in the evening, Barry Sherwood of Internet service provider Sunset Net, said he had no idea there was this kind of demand for high-speed broadband.
"This can be done locally. All we need is right-of-ways, money and time," Sherwood told the audience.
A video of the Wednesday event will be placed on the local Web site: www.chicofiber.net and will be included in the final application to Google, as well as a summary of ideas.
Additionally, community members are being encouraged to nominate Chico to Google, which can be done on the same Web site.
Staff writer Laura Urseny can be reached at 896-7756 or lurseny@chicoer.com.
BACKGROUND: Google has invited communities to apply to be high-speed broadband test sites for its experimental network.
WHAT'S NEW: A community forum at Chico State on Wednesday drew more than 100 interested in what high-speed broadband could do here.
WHAT'S NEXT: Communities have until March 26 to apply and sometime this year, Google will choose one or more communities.
To see more of the Chico Enterprise-Record or to subscribe to the newspaper, go
to http://www.chicoer.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Chico Enterprise-Record, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave.,
Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To SIP Trunking Home's Homepage ]
|
