Google Fiber has made closing the digital divide all the...

network now promising broadband transmission speed of 1 gigabit a second in Missouri and Kansas. Because people with 100 times the bandwidth (with Google Fiber speeds) will be far more connected than people who still have nothing or next to nothing, “We'll become the most bandwidth-rich city in America,” Liimatta said. “Let’s not make the digital divide 100 times wider.” Google’s arrival is “an opportunity for us” in terms of awareness, he said. The first phase of the non-profit Doing for Good’s Rosedale Ridge Wi-Fi project began last week, connecting 200 low-income families in Kansas, Liimatta described in a blog post Wednesday (http://xrl.us/bn6whw). “To do this, we became an ISP ourselves and are buying wholesale bandwidth,” he wrote. “We are using a point-to-point 100 Mb connection that will deliver up to 50 Mb of Internet connectivity there.” He once hoped that Google would provide such a wireless network to low-income housing, but in September learned it “does not fit their current business model,” “a real surprise,” he wrote then (http://xrl.us/bn6wju). Wednesday, he wrote about attempts to sign up low-income people for Google Fiber’s $300 for seven-year service package as well as secure computers for them. Google Fiber has achieved a “good rhythm of installations and customer support” and plans to “pick up the pace” in installing what it’s calling “fiberhoods” -- neighborhoods wired with its fiber -- said a Monday blog post by Rachel Hack, Google Fiber Community Manager (http://xrl.us/bn6v98). Google has begun “slowly” in the Hanover Heights and Dub’s Dread neighborhoods of Kansas City, Kan., as part of the installation, which will take place first in the city’s Kansas side and then in Missouri. Next up are five neighborhoods: Piper Schools, Delaware Ridge, Painted Hills, Open Door and Arrowhead. Residents need to choose Google Fiber plans by certain deadlines in January through March if they want the service.