Can Google rescue the Feds?

The federal government needs Google badly, and the tech titan is about to charge in. Google is launching a program to provide super-fast Internet access to select locations nationwide, a move that could give government a boost in its plans to make the Internet an integral part of a citizen's life.

There are billions of federal dollars earmarked to bring high-speed access to isolated and not-so isolated communities alike. The government money is part of the stimulus package and is just beginning to flow.

Google expects to test "ultra high-speed" networks, spooling out 1 gigabit of data per second--more than 100 times faster than typical access--in a small number of communities. Last week, Google issued a request for information to identify interested communities.

"In the same way that the transition from dial-up to broadband made possible the emergence of online video and countless other applications, ultra high-speed bandwidth will lead to new innovations--including streaming high-definition video content, remote data storage, distance learning, telemedicine, real-time multimedia collaboration and others that we cannot yet imagine," Minnie Ingersoll, product manager on Google's alternative access team, said in a statement.

Nextgov.com reports that government purchasing rules may prevent Google from testing the technology at federal departments during its trial period. Nevertheless, today's federal government is very open to experimenting.

Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, welcomed Google's super-speed service plan. "The FCC's national broadband plan will build upon such private sector initiatives and will include recommendations for facilitating and accelerating greater investment in broadband, creating jobs and increasing America's global competitiveness," he said in a statement.

Furthermore, WIRED reports that Google is developing its own methods of doing things in the Internet world that could impact the federal government's Internet goals. Among them:

> Google is developing a really fast broadband, to demonstrate that doing so isn't as hard as is claimed by the big telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon.

> It's sending a warning signal to the telecom companies that they may have a big competitor who could force prices down.

> It's showing the world that it may be possible to bypass the dominant players in the field.

For more on Google and the Feds:
- see this nextgov.com article
- check out this WIRED article

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