Nevada City to hold rally this Sunday in bid to wow Google

By Pat Butler

Nevada City Advocate

  Nevada City will attempt to put its best foot forward when it holds a rally beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday at Robinson Plaza to convince Google to let this area test drive its new ultra high-speed broadband that is reportedly 100 times faster than most Internet services.

  “What we do best in Nevada City are parades. This might not be a parade, but it is going to be a rally,” John Paul, one of the principal organizers, said to around 40 people at a recent planning meeting for 95959google.

  Google, the search-engine giant, announced on Feb. 10 it is looking for one or more communities to serve as test sites for its Fiber for Communities project. The deadline to submit the 12-page application is March 26. Local organizers say cities like Los Angeles, Providence, R.I. and Portland, Ore., are among those vying to be test sites.

  The communities that are selected can expect to have many of their homes connected to fiber-optic cable that can deliver information at a speed of 1 gigabit per second, according to Google.

  Councilor Sally Harris, the city’s representative on 95959google, said that nearly every household in the area could have access to the broadband service, which can download an HD movie in five minutes.

  “If it happened, it would be a tremendous boost to our economy. It could provide jobs and attract jobs,” she said. “It’s worth the try.”

  Google says it’s looking for areas that have a population of between 50,000 and 500,000 for the project. Paul said 95959google’s application will be on behalf all of western Nevada County, which has a population of around 100,000 people.

  Paul said he believes the area has a good chance of being what amounts to a beta test site for Google, citing the high-tech video industry already here, the city’s commitment to the project and the possibility the area might receive $13 million in federal stimulus funds for a wireless broadband network.

  Chip Carman and Paul of Spiral Internet in Nevada City are spearheading the effort with support from Nevada City Manager Gene Albaugh, who is working on rally arrangements with the police and public works departments and helping fill out the application, which seeks specific information on the city’s infrastructure.

  The rally is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at Robinson Plaza in downtown Nevada City. Paul said live music will start at 12:30 p.m.

  After about a 20-minute rally, the Google gathering will march down Broad Street to Bridge Street and take a left turn to Miners Foundry where a community party and potluck will be held with live music and food.

  In addition to the festivities at the Foundry, a booth with video equipment will be set up so residents can tell Google what the community would do with a gigabit, or Googlebit as organizers have dubbed it.

  Paul said in a recent e-newsletter that the rally will close some streets for maybe 30 minutes and that no parking places will be affected.

  Suzanne Warren of Silver Avenue Pictures in Grass Valley will videotape the event, which will be sent to Google as part of the application. Cognizant Productions may stream the event live on web.

  Rally organizers also have created a web site, 95959google.com, where supporters can register and tell Google what the community could do with a gigabit.

  Paul said he would be “thrilled” to see 1,000 people marching and carrying signs telling Google why it should pick Nevada City to be a test site.

  “The point we want to make is that we have a community that works together,” he said.