Tonight! Public Forum on Austin Response to Google "Fiber for Communities" Initiative
Submitted by chip on Wed, 10-Mar-2010 - 8:48 am
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The Big Gig Austin effort continues tonight, with a public forum to discuss the Austin response to the Google "Fiber for Communities" initiative. The forum is sponsored by the Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission.
Public Forum
Wed, Mar 10, 7:00 PM
Austin City Hall
Room 1101, Boards & Commissions Room
301 W. Second St.
Austin, TX
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/cityhall/visit.htm
The public is invited to attend and participate.
The forum is tentatively scheduled to be cablecast live on City of Austin cable channel 6, and streamed live online at: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/channel6
- Rondella Hawkins, Manager, Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs, City of Austin
- Chip Rosenthal, Co-Founder, Big Gig Austin Initiative
- Dave Porter, Senior Vice President, Austin Chamber of Commerce
- Joe Faulk, Division Manager, Library Information Services, Austin Public Library
- Linda Litowsky, Executive Director, channelAustin
- Tamara Hudgins, Executive Director, Girlstart
- Dan Stanzione, Deputy Director, Texas Advanced Computing Center, The University of Texas at Austin
- Ed Henigin, Chief Technical Officer, Data Foundry, Inc.
Then, the forum will be open to the public. Members of the public are invited to sign up and speak up to three minutes. Your comments will be incorporated into the official record for this meeting. A strong public response will help support the City's application to Google.
The Commission especially invites presentations from residents on: how they might use a high-bandwidth Internet connection, creative uses for such a facility, and points to present to Google that recommend Austin as a location for their fiber network trials.
The agenda for the Commission meeting is posted here.
Comments
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My complements!
Though I and my small team face overload 24/7 every day what "fiber for communities initiative" appears to focus on satisfies what we feel will bring solid outcomes using the best of the best. Let's see more of it!
don't understand what next step is
Sorry, I don't understand what next step is. No specific hour is given in your alert. Are you saying the Public Forum takes place all day March 10, 2010?
Dialoguemakers.org is not geared up to perform on last minute notice. Apologies!
Kenneth
thanks
Thanks for catching that, I corrected it.
Unfortunately, with only a month to do the entire RFI, there isn't a lot of runway for planning. Lot's of seat of the pants stuff. We're trying to keep folks updated (the Twitter feed and Facebook group are the best places), and hope they can participate where it works.
The most important thing to do is to submit a nomination to bring the Google network at Austin. This option is available both to individuals and organizations. See the "Nominate Austin" link at www.BigGigAustin.org.
The second most important thing, after you've submitted your nomination, is to work your networks and encourage them to participate.
Thanks for the interest and support!
Keep Austin Weird NOT Keep Austin Wired(to Google)
Keep Google's Hands OFF Austin. We Austinites don't want to become Google androids, dependent on Google like crack addicks. We already have access to Clear and don't need Google subsidized internet. Do they not have enough to keep them busy already? Why don't they start with free internet for all of the charite is first if they really want to help out? There's a reason we ran Google out of town a few years ago-- because Austin likes it's autonomy and Google's all about Google, not about giving. We like free enteprise and healthy competition here and having one company come in an feed us koolaid for free to get at our data and probably share it with the government is not a welcomed situation around here. It would be "Keep Austin Wired (to Google)" instead of Keep Austin Weird if they get their way. Keep your greedy googly hands to yourselves Google and let us run our own town. We like our own character and do not need you to press your cultural ideas upon us.
misunderstood
Hey, Anonymous -- you've got some incorrect data here. The Google network won't be free. It will be a commercial network, and available as an alternative to current broadband service providers.
Plus -- here is the really cool part about their plan -- it will be open, and you could have a choice for providers other than Google. Remember the old days when you picked the ISP you wanted and connected over Ma Bell's phone lines? Google is trying to restore that choice, but deliver it at blazing gigabit speeds.
It's really a good thing. Google says they have no intention of getting into the ISP business (just like they had no intention of getting into the wireless business when they setup a pilot mesh in Mountain View, CA). They just want to demonstrate that we should have better broadband in this country than what we're getting now.
Google come to Austin! Keep
Google come to Austin! Keep Austin Weird is losing its facade as Austin becomes more modernize whether you like it or not. If anything we're moving forward to the future and not be labelled as backward folks with no technological advances. I am also happy because Time Warner Cable, Suddenlink, Cox Communications, AT&T and the likes have been having a choke hold on us. Giving us inferior services and speeds compared to other major cities. It's ridiculous. We're paying so much money for low speeds if you compared us to San Antonio and Houston. Austin needs to step up and accept Google. I want subsidized internet with higher speed and reliable customer service.
Heck I even hope it leaks up to Pflugerville, Cedar Park and Round Rock to be fair. Not to mention it'll open up TONS of jobs for people. Building the infrastructure, more programmers to experiment with it, local customer services, etc.... I don't need to see more families out on the streets just because people wants to keep Austin "weird."