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Is Salt Lake City the Next Google Fiber City?

File: Google

Officials with Googleannounced Wednesday that Salt Lake City is on a list of nine cities where the company wants to expand its ultra-high speed network called Fiber.  It would be the same system that residents of Provo are now signing up for. Michael Slinger is the director of business operations for Google.  He says the announcement only marks the beginning of a six to nine month process.

“…and building a brand new fiber network is hard work…but it’s worth it. We need to make sure beforehand that we can do so effectively and efficiently," Slinger says.  "So we’re going to be working with the city and looking at things such as the existing conduit. Is there conduit in the city that we can use to bring our fiber through?”

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker promised an open and transparent system throughout the entire assessment process.

Credit File: Google
Infrastructure graphic of fiber optic distribution options.

“What this would mean to our community is enormous. Fiber today is what water and sewer and other basic infrastructure was in the 20th century. It is the key to creating a 21st century community,” says Becker.

He says the city will have regular updates on the progress. He says residents are encouraged to engage with city leaders as the process moves forward.

The Google Fiber Network brings home and businesses internet speeds up to 100 times faster than current average speeds. Download and uploading speeds are the same. Television services are also offered to users.   

Bob Nelson is a graduate of the University of Utah with a BA in mass communications. He began his radio career at KUER in 1978 when it was still in Kingsbury Hall. That’s also where he met his wife, Maria Shilaos, in 1981. Bob left KUER for commercial radio where he worked for 25 years, and he is thrilled to be back at KUER. Bob and his family are part of an explorer group, fondly known as The Hordes and Masses, which has been seeking out ghost towns and little-known places in Utah for more than twenty years.
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