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What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Wednesday, March 10,
2010
Governor to Meet with
Google in California, Pitch Michigan for Fiber Optic
Network Trial
The governor today will meet with officials at Google in
California to thank them for their ongoing
investment in Michigan and encourage the company to include
the state in the testing of Google fiber, its new ultra-high speed fiber optic
broadband network.
Google has asked communities around the nation to
submit proposals by March 26 for consideration as a trial location for the
Google fiber network. It is expected to deliver Internet speeds more than
100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today. The
fiber-to-the-home connections of more than 1 gigabit per second will be offered
at a competitive price to a community of at least 50,000 and potentially up to
500,000 people.
Granholm is encouraging Michigan
communities to submit applications for the trial network with several already in
the works, including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and
Lansing/East Lansing. Those applications are being supported by citizens
through social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter.
The governor also is meeting today with California-based
venture capitalists and high-tech company representatives at a luncheon
roundtable to ask them to consider bringing their investments and companies to
Michigan. The venture capitalists
attending today’s roundtable are Michigan natives or attended college in the
state. University of Michigan
President Mary Sue Coleman sent a personal
invitation to a dozen of the university’s most accomplished and dedicated
graduates in the venture capital and entrepreneurial
community.
Key
messages:
- Google fiber is a
perfect fit for Michigan because no other state can match
the exploding new technology investment here in recent years. Google
fiber would spark economic activity and job creation here as Michigan entrepreneurs
and businesses stand to gain enormous advantages through this extraordinary
innovation.
- For more
information on the Google fiber network, citizens can visit the Google fiber
Web site: http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/.
Citizens and municipal officials can visit the site to express support for
Google fiber in their communities.
- Companies are
choosing to invest and grow in Michigan because it’s a great state in which
to do business. From solar products and advanced batteries to military
equipment and software, we are creating a diversified economy where firms
across a wide spectrum of industries are finding success and growing new
jobs. Michigan is a welcoming environment for a
high-tech company, with an abundant supply of technical and engineering talent
and a world-class university research apparatus enabling entrepreneurs to
develop and transfer technology to the
marketplace.
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Jon
Ogar
Senior
Writer/Editor
Communications
Division
Office of Governor
Jennifer M. Granholm
Office 517-335-6819
Cell
517-515-2743
Fax
517-335-6790