Hey, Google! My school will take a bit of that broadband

Antitrust and regulatory concerns be damned, I want high-speed Internet. If Google has to provide it since Verizon won't step up to the plate, that's fine by me. However, Google's recent announcement of their plans to deploy gigabit fiber to homes in their broadband "experiment" leaves me hanging. Do you know what my entire district could do with a gigabit connection to the Internet?

Even if you added up all of the bandwidth that we have coming into our 6 schools (and obviously it doesn't work this way), you'd still only get 57MBps. A gigabit connection to a central location, however, even distributed via cheap copper connections to the other schools (see my datacenter fantasy posts #1 and #2) would be utterly transformative in terms of our ability to leverage online learning environments and collaboration tools.

Sam Diaz' quote from Google was especially telling:

Google has been very clear that this is an experimental project. From the post:

"Like our WiFi network in Mountain View, the purpose of this project is to experiment and learn. Network providers are making real progress to expand and improve high-speed Internet access, but there’s still more to be done. We don’t think we have all the answers – but through our trial, we hope to make a meaningful contribution to the shared goal of delivering faster and better Internet for everyone."

You want a testing ground, Google? I know this will be easy in major urban areas, but have I got a sandbox for you. Welcome to the land of rural broadband, where the only thing slower than the DSL is the maple syrup this time of year (or the dial-up that many residents still use). Faster and better Internet for everyone? 20% of Americans live in rural areas and the so-called Digital Divide is felt almost as keenly here as it is in the inner city and even some developing nations.

As Google policy analyst, , noted in an interview with CNN,

One [idea that Google has presented] is that community institutions can serve as hubs to improve adoption within communities. Schools, libraries, health care facilities can be local and centralized points where people from the community who aren't familiar with Internet access or don't have access to it can get access, and we can help achieve universal adoption. ...

Sounds like a plan to me. Want to use us as a hub for rural broadband access and education? I think I could probably sell my school committee on that one.