Google Fiber proposal wouldn’t apply to on-campus students

Pittsburgh might win a contest to get one of the fastest Internet networks in history, but… Pittsburgh might win a contest to get one of the fastest Internet networks in history, but for Pitt students living on campus, that might mean almost nothing.

Google, the Internet search giant, announced on its public blog earlier this month that it intends to create a network with 1-gigabit-per-second speed — several times what is available through other companies — for a U.S. city. Pittsburgh and other U.S. cities jumped into the contest, “Google Fiber for Communities,” for a chance to win the high-speed network.

Chancellor Mark Nordenberg spoke up as well. He posted a message on my.pitt.edu and sent an e-mail last week, encouraging students to recommend Pittsburgh for the network.

But Pitt provides the Internet access for the dormitories and the University itself. So all of that speed won’t be coming to a Pitt dorm, even if the city does win.

Morgan Kelly, a spokesman for Pitt, said that if Google’s network came to Pittsburgh, it would bring no change to students in the dorms. Neither would the super-fast Internet connection come to the University as a whole.

Pitt operates as an Internet service provider for the dormitories and for the University itself, according to the Computing Services and Systems Development website.

As for why the Chancellor put a note on my.pitt.edu about the contest, Kelly said it was to express greater support for the city.

“It’s the same as putting a ‘Go Steelers’ sign in your window,” Kelly said. “Even though you don’t get to share their Super Bowl trophy.”

Broadband networks offered by other companies usually have speeds of one to 10 megabytes per second. That’s about one hundredth of the speed offered by the Google contest.

Fiber-optic Internet connections offered by Verizon reach 50 megabytes per second, according to Verizon’s website.

Google would offer the service at a “competitive price” to at least 50,000 people and potentially 500,000, according to the company’s blog.

The mayor of Duluth, Minn., jumped into Lake Superior as part of the city’s bid for the Google network. Topeka, Kan., renamed itself “Google, Kansas” for the month of March. But something like “Googlesburgh” is not in the works for the city.

Joanna Doven, a spokeswoman for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, said the city wasn’t looking for anything that drastic yet.

Ravenstahl declared last Friday — the contest’s registration deadline — “Google Day” in Pittsburgh. People lined up on Forbes Avenue, Downtown, that day to spell out “Google,” holding signs saying “Reserved For Google” with a lawn chair on it.

The sign, which is also on the website, serves as the city’s logo for the contest. The lawn chair is something distinctly Pittsburgh — Doven said it comes from the practice of Pittsburghers putting lawn chairs on parking spots to reserve the spot for them. Technically, this practice is illegal, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Doven said that the city chose the logo because administrators thought Pittsburghers would “get it.” Those who didn’t understand, she said, would be drawn to the website to find out why.

The city is focusing on “raising awareness” in the community about the contest, she said. The city launched the website along with Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, UPMC and Visit Pittsburgh.