Rochester Business Journal

Following news Google Inc. is looking for communities to test faster broadband networks, Axcess Ontario announced it will apply to become a trial location.

Known until last year as the Finger Lakes Regional Telecommunications Development Corp., Axcess Ontario is the agency overseeing the 180-mile, open-access fiber-ring project in Ontario County. The organization said it is a perfect candidate for Google’s trial.

In a blogpost Wednesday, Google issued a request for information to U.S. communities seeking test sites for an experiment to improve Internet access. Google plans to test ultra high-speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country.

Its networks, the company said, will deliver Internet speeds at least 100 times faster than what most Americans have today. Google said it will offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

What Google seeks to accomplish is exactly what the Ontario County fiber-optic ring was built for, Axcess Ontario President and CEO Ed Hemminger said in a statement today.

“Ontario County should be at the top of Google’s list of potential test sites — we’ve been working on this project for seven years,” Hemminger said. “And with 180 miles of open access fiber scheduled for completion by the end of the year, Ontario County is perfectly positioned for Google’s experiment.”

Ontario County has committed $12 million to the fiber-ring project. Approximately 60 miles of the180-mile fiber ring are complete and being used by service providers to deploy cost-effective telecommunications services to area businesses.

The remainder of the ring is on schedule to be completed by the end of the year, which officials said, means Ontario County has the infrastructure to implement what Google wants to do.

“Our community had the vision, knowledge and the foresight to invest in a fiber infrastructure that is critical to American innovation and economic growth,” Hemminger said. “The fiber ring ensures our community will never be left behind in the global economy, and this week we can see with the Google Experiment that Ontario County may, in fact, have an opportunity to lead the way.”

There are two ways to respond to Google’s RFI; one of them is through nominations from the community.

Axcess Ontario is encouraging residents and businesses to go online and nominate Ontario County.
“We’re responding as a government, but we need our entire community supporting us and nominating us through the Google online site,” Hemminger said. “Our infrastructure combined with a community campaign will ensure that Ontario County gets Google’s attention and rises to the top of the list of potential test sites.”

(c) 2010 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or e-mail service@rbj.net.