Comments on: Hey Google: Bring Your Fiber-Optic Action To Baltimore!

By: Martin

Martin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:25:52 +0000

Let’s see:
“Portland, OR is probably the best place to serve it. It’s an up and coming metropolitan area”
Like Baltimore.

“with the perfect size population for what Google’s looking for (500,000)”
Baltimore is only 10% larger than Portland.

“The city is relatively compact, especially the downtown/Pearl district areas.”
Maybe by West Coast standards, but Baltimore’s population density is almost twice that of Portland’s.

“The market is full of youth with plenty of incoming young professionals.”
Like Baltimore.

“And we already have a wide fiber network sprawled throughout the city.”
Baltimore, by contrast, is underserved by broadband companies – which makes it more, not less, appealing to Google.

“Seriously, it really makes a lot of sense. Made sense for Clear anyways.”
It certainly did in Baltimore.

I’ve got nothing against Portland; I’ve never been, but I hear great things. But Baltimore has everything Google could ask for in a test environment and more. Institutions ready and itching to use a high-speed network to its fullest? We’ve got some of the nation’s most important hospitals, research labs, universities, and museums. Techies who will find new uses for high-speed broadband? Believe it or not, Baltimore has one of the highest concentrations of IT pros in the country. Artists and musicians who will benefit from increased power to share their work? Baltimore is home to MICA and the Peabody Institute, two of the country’s most prestigious schools for visual arts and music respectively, and the low cost of living means that we keep our artists after they graduate. A community suffering from a digital divide? Of course large swaths of Baltimore are afflicted by poverty and blight, but we have a school system that’s reinvented itself in recent years and is ready to turn Google Fiber into something that will really change thousands of lives.

Portland is, by all accounts, a fantastic city. But it’s not a perfect test case for Google Fiber. Baltimore is.

By: Lolly

Lolly — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:04:28 +0000

Let’s hear it for Baltimore! People who are dismissing it as an option don’t seem to have looked into the full proposal. We have a lot to offer here, beyond just “middle class” uses. It’s a great educational center, with a wide variety of institutions, and has some innovative and committed businesses.

By: alison

alison — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:38:47 +0000

google should definitely pick baltimore, hon!

By: cacarr

cacarr — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:58:20 +0000

Up yours, buddy. They’re bringing it to Portland, OR!

;-)

Perfect size, and they’ve had community broadband plans for years — just haven’t half the half billion or so USD laying around.

By: Steven

Steven — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:03:15 +0000

Greenville, SC is gonna get it. :)

http://www.wearefeelinglucky.com/

By: Palaba

Palaba — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:53:49 +0000

Yea Baltimore loves O’s, Google loves O’s, perfect match!

By: Quasar

Quasar — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:06:43 +0000

Google will have a tough choice to make since there are a lot of good cities out there for testing. I hope they decide to pick a few medium size cities to test in rather than one big city. I also hope Spokane WA is one of those choices!

By: Mike Subelsky

Mike Subelsky — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:10:41 +0000

Baltimore +1!

By: 2FR35H

2FR35H — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:30:37 +0000

How about San Antonio Tx?

By: Jonny Ringo

Jonny Ringo — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:49:37 +0000

Why not San Diego, CA.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:17:52 +0000

As a former Baltimore resident I support your request for fiber! :)

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:32:35 +0000

BREAKING NEWS…..

Google will announce that they should and will build their next site in Omaha, NE. jk

Seriously though, Omaha is a perfect fit since it’s infrastructure was build to serve companies like Google! Why do you think Paypal is there already!

GO OMAHA!!!!! :)

By: brie987

brie987 — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:48:45 +0000

gOOgle should be in brOOklyn ny! See what I did there? We have a lot in common!

By: jim novak

jim novak — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:31:21 +0000

nice post! definitely a vote for Baltimore! Reading the posts on http://www.bmorefiber.com really shows the enthusiasm and the need for a high speed connection in Baltimore… I think we would be a city that would really take advantage of the opportunity!

By: Robert Wray

Robert Wray — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:28:32 +0000

Google should pick ticonderoga, NY. If it can’t do that, Baltimore is the next best choice. bmorefiber.com !!