The 1 gigabit per second Google Fiber network is the next step - one we need now - in connecting Pittsburgh.

Google is proposing to select a small collection of communities to which they would provide new networking infrastructure. This new network would deliver Internet service at one gigabit per second, approximately 100 times the current fastest rate in Pittsburgh, directly to homes. (As a simple example, a DVD that can now be downloaded in an hour would require less than one minute.) Consumers would be able to obtain this access to general networking (not just Google applications) at a reasonable price.

At such high speeds many, many new possibilities for Internet use open up. They include:

• Education and virtual classrooms at all levels: elementary to university to workforce.
• Health and medicine: remote doctor-patient interactions and diagnoses—providing efficiencies and access to unserved and underserved communities—and the ability to move of large amounts of data like that produced by modern diagnostic tools.
• Communication: high-quality videoconferencing to enable flexible work environments and potentially reduce traffic congestion
• Entertainment: far better video, online gaming, and better fan participation in sports (for example, video feeds from sports venues) and the arts
• Social networking: sharing of one's "life," though large, high-quality pictures and other electronic artifacts.
• Government: easily accessible video and data for constituents.
• Cloud services: allowing users to keep all of their data "in the cloud" to avoid loss and provide accessibility from anywhere.
• Many new ones that no one has thought of—yet (which is the point)!

At 1 gigabit per second, the Internet "isn't just for downloads any more!"

For Pittsburgh, this would be a chance to take the next, much-needed step in networking. Pittsburgh is an ideal candidate for this project for several reasons. A network pilot project has four critical success factors:

1. Supply of new applications to use the network: Pittsburgh has a wealth of innovators that are already exploring innovative network applications: Carnegie Mellon, the Pittsburgh Public Schools, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), the University of Pittsburgh, and a host of others. In Pittsburgh, we invent the future.
2. Demand for the applications: Pittsburghers have always been at the forefront of new models of computation, and new experiments generally. Pittsburgh's population is diverse along many demographics and provides a broad set of users, skills, ideas, and demands for network usage. In Pittsburgh, we adopt new capabilities.
3. Easy network creation: Pittsburgh has excellent underlying infrastructure and a government that will aggressively clear any remaining obstacles to a new network. In Pittsburgh, we build things.
4. A high-speed network to "connect the dots" above: this is what Google proposes to provide to the communities it selects. In Pittsburgh, we put it all together.

Economic and other potential benefits to Pittsburgh include:

• Enhanced education, job training and workforce preparedness for the 21^st century
• State-of-the-art delivery of health services to a much wider population base
• The network infrastructure to support the new innovations for which Pittsburgh is famous, in research, technology, development, education, health, business, the arts, and many other areas
• Far better Internet access for all, potentially at reduced cost
• An increasingly attractive place for businesses to locate, expand, and stay
• An opportunity to continue to stand out as the "Eds and Meds" hub that continues to reinvent itself (as highlighted during the recent G-20 Summit hosted by President Obama).
• A chance to showcase and extend our regional strengths in computer science, information technology, and robotics; life sciences, energy and the environment, and materials.
• New jobs, both creating the new infrastructure and working with the new applications it enables.

Official responses to Google must come from governments, and the City of Pittsburgh is preparing a submission. Many Pittsburgh organizations are already involved: Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC, and the Pittsburgh Public Schools are just a few examples.

We need your help. Community interest and support will be a key factor in Google's decision to make this investment in our community (for which there is widespread competition).

Companies, community groups, organizations, and individual can help by adding your voice to Pittsburgh's supporters.

Go to PittsburghGoesGoogle.com to

• Add your voice by showing your support and leaving a message
• Finding out where to complete an official Google support form
• Add your company, group, or organization with a logo
• Add a video
• And...spread the word!

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