City Hall on Friday forwarded an 11-page submittal to Internet giant Google in hopes of convincing the company to install a local high-speed fiber optic network, drafting Mayor Dana Williams and Sundance Film Festival organizers to argue that Park City would be a fine place for Google.
The submittal, put together by City Hall’s Information Technology department, touts Park City’s status as a top-ranking ski destination, says the city is attractive to entrepreneurs and claims that Park City is a technologically savvy place.
“We have a really broad reach, from a national, international perspective. I think that’s a very compelling reason,” said Scott Robertson, City Hall’s Information Technology director and one of the key authors of the submittal.
He added that Park City is a financially healthy place when compared to elsewhere, meaning that people who live in the city would be apt to subscribe to a high-speed service from Google should one be built in the city. The submittal says Park City’s “socio-economic positions favors a strong demand” for the Google service.
Robertson plans to show a video stretching just more than five minutes at a Park City Council meeting on Thursday. The video was made as part of the submittal to Google. It features the mayor, not-for-profit leaders and Winter Olympic athletes, he said.
Rank-and-file Parkites supported the effort as well, he said, describing that 68 people submitted written statements in favor of Google Fiber for Communities and approximately 300 people signed at least one of two online drives.
Robertson said a range of industries could be nurtured in Park City should Google select the city. Filmmakers, educators and health care workers could tap the service, he said. The submittal indicates City Hall could promote the network through concerts and lectures that would be shown online and developing conference and meeting facilities.
“This sets the stage for us for the next 10 years. That gives opportunity to businesses that normally couldn’t work or operate here that now can, if it’s awarded,” he said, anticipating that the Google service could generate new jobs in the city.
Google wants to launch a trial fiber optic system that the company says could deliver Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most people have access to now. The Google Fiber for Communities program will tap an undetermined number of communities, with the company saying the combined population of the selected places will range from 50,000 to 500,000. Google wants to pick the places that will participate by the end of the year. A Google spokesman said more than 1,100 communities submitted responses and the number of responses from individuals topped 194,000.
The company would pay to install the fiber optic network and then charge customers who use the service. Park City officials say they do not envision spending taxpayer money, and a Google official has told The Park Record that none would be sought.
The City Hall submittal includes numerous technical specifications, a statistical snapshot of Park City and an assertion that the city’s economy has performed better during the recession than the economies elsewhere. It also talks about the accolades the Park City School District receives.
“Park City is ready to transform into a world-class technology haven with the support of the most influential community of its size,” the submittal says.
Meanwhile, officials sprinkled quotes from the community into the submittal, including one from a top Sundance staffer. Sarah Pearce, who directs the operations of the film festival, said the service would “revolutionize the Sundance Film Festival in ways yet to be imagined. Through the exceptional international exposure provided, Google would garner extensive media coverage and its system would be used by an incredibly important cultural community.”