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Iowa City area forms Google Fiber coalitionMar 13, 2010 (The Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Four communities have formed a coalition to nominate the Iowa City area for the Google Fiber broadband access project. The Iowa City Area Broadband Coalition has launched a Web site -- www.icabc.org -- through which local residents can learn more about the project and nominate the Iowa City area to Google. It also contains links that enable local residents to follow the group's progress on Twitter and Facebook. Google is selecting one or more communities in the population range from 50,000 to 500,000 to serve as a test site for its first high-speed broadband networks. The network will allow Internet speeds 100 times faster than typical household Internet connections, according to the coalition. "The strong, cooperative partnership shared by the ICABC should make it easy for Google to deploy in our area," the Web site says. "Our collective recovery from the flood of 2008 demonstrated just how well this community works together." The coalition considers the Iowa City "urbanized area" a strong contender for the project because of its high-technology and innovative environment, the group said in a statement. It said the attributes stem largely from the University of Iowa's research projects, medical complexes and medical teaching facilities. The group also will emphasize the local business community, which includes among others ACT, Pearson, and Integrated DNA Technologies. Applications for the Google Fiber project will be accepted through March 26. The city of Ames is also pursuing a nomination. Facebook groups in Cedar Rapids and other Iowa communities have been set up to encourage nominations for their communities. -- Comments: (319) 398-8317; [email protected] To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gazetteonline.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], 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. |