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"A Google spokeswoman said that promise of wireless Internet connections refers to systems it will install at more than 400 locations around the city for free. Google promised the free hookups for locations to be determined by officials in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., as part of the agreement in setting up its network. The two cities have, as part of the same agreement, given building space to the company and assigned staff to fast-track permits for the construction of the Internet service."

A new post over at the Google Fiber blog notes that with pre-registration now closed, 180 out of 202 potential "fiberhoods" in the Kansas City region have qualified for Google Fiber. As we noted back in July, Google encouraged Kansas City communities to participate in a six week rally to determine which neighborhoods were connected first. Not only did those rallies help Google determine the maximum deployment strategy for the best ROI, they also generated an immense volume of free advertising for the company. 

"Two more interesting analyses of the Google Fiber project (about which more here), following on from this previous post. An article in the Wall Street Journal ("Web rivals want what Google got") reports that rivals are seeking the same concessions Google obtained from Kansas City to support their network builds:"

If successful, the Kansas City rollout could set a benchmark for other companies to match

Google's Kansas City broadband project is designed to shame the top US cable and telecom giants. Why is the U.S. ranked 28th in broadband speed?

In the excitement around Google's unveiling of the $70 gigabit broadband connection in Kansas City, some may be wondering how it is that Google can offer a gigabit for moderately more than what most of us pay for far slower cable broadband connections.

Google is getting into the Internet Service Provider (ISP) game, as you might have heard. Its new offering, Google Fiber was announced today in Kansas City. Right now, the service is only available there, but from what we can tell, it's ridiculously fast. For $70 a month you'll get "gigabit" Internet service, which is 100 times faster than your standard cable modem. Kick in an extra $50 a month and you'll get cable-TV-like-service as well.

ansas City is about to experience the Internet as it should be. If you're in the right neighborhood, you could be enjoying downloads speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second when Google's pilot project lights up in Kansas and Missouri this September. You might think the Google initiative will force U.S. Internet service providers, which generally deliver downloads speeds a fraction of what the search giant is promising, to finally get their own fiber projects moving. But you'd be wrong. 

Recently, venture capitalist and senior Kauffman fellow, Paul Kedrosky, gave the last of four scheduled presentations at the Kauffman Foundation relating to Google Fiber. He concentrated on what Kansas City should do to make sure it-and the U.S.-gets the most out of the Google Fiber innovation opportunity. Here are four specific lessons on Google Fiber innovation from Paul Kedrosky that likely apply to our organizations as we strive for greater innovation

"Nous vous faisions part, la semaine dernière, des bons conseils d'Ethan Zuckerman pour utiliser intelligemment le financement participatif pour mener à bien des projets citoyens… Le chercheur, directeur du Centre des médias civiques du MIT, a récemment complété son propos à l'occasion d'une conférence donnée à l'université Flinders à Adélaïde en Australie qu'il a retranscrite sur son blog (vidéo). Pour lui, l'expérience de financement participatif de Jase Wilson qu'il évoquait (le développeur Jase Wilson a lancé une collecte de dons sur l'internet pour financer une ligne de tramway à Kansas City, un projet que la ville venait d'abandonner faute de financement) est un exemple de la façon dont les "natifs" d'internet utilisent l'internet pour exercer leur citoyenneté, et s'engager via de nouvelles formes d'outils dans la vie civique."

Google may be rolling out 1Gbps Internet access to Kansas City, but there are about 19 million American households and businesses that still lack any access to broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Most of them are in rural areas, and some will soon benefit from broadband projects financed by one of the last pillars of the FCC's National Broadband Plan: the Connect America Fund. "I'm pleased to announce today that nearly 400,000 residents and businesses in rural communities who currently lack access to high-speed Internet will gain access within the next three years," declared FCC Chair Julius Genachowski on Thursday.

"The research group notes that even with $45 billion in cash on hand, Google probably doesn't have the money to blanket the nation in its fiber. But it can cover enough ground to severely disrupt the pay TV business with a superior ISP/video solution."

"Google's fiber-to-the-home network may look like a loss leader for the search engine company, but its executive teams says it's profitable. Here are the three ways Google has managed to cut the costs of building out a network and beat ISPs at their own game."