Connect Arkansas Solicits Communities for Google ISP Experiment

Connect Arkansas said Thursday it's working with community leaders across the state to get them involved with Google's experiment to build and test ultra-high speed broadband internet in trial locations across the United States.

Connect Arkansas was established in 2007 by the Connect Arkansas Broadband Act and exists to help develop and implement a competitive broadband infrastructure in Arkansas.

Google announced Wednesday that it would launch an experiment to make Internet access better and faster for all Americans. The Internet search company plans to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations it says will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than most Americans currently use.

Connect Arkansas is the state's coordinating agency for Broadband Stimulus Funds, and is taking a lead role in reaching out to communities across the state.        

"Connect Arkansas will vigilantly pursue every opportunity to enhance Arkansas's access to the most transformational technology since electricity," said Connect Arkansas president C. Sam Walls. "These are exciting opportunities and Arkansas welcomes the opportunity to compete."

Google's experimental network will offer more than 1 gigabit per second and fiber-to-the-home connections at a competitive price. The company hopes to reach out to 50,000-500,000 people.

Local governments, as well as citizen groups, are eligible for inclusion in the trial. Google asks that interested parties provide information about their respective communities through a Request for Information which is posted on the company's website. The RFI is available until March 26 at http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi.