Topeka Unofficially Renames Itself Google, Kansas

Topeka, Kansas, is a relatively well-known city name-wise, yet it has no qualms about (unofficially) renaming itself Google, KS. It’s part of an effort to “sell” Topeka as a trial location for the fiber-optic network broadband trial it is planning to run.

Google said it would choose a number of areas to run the trial, based on “entries” it will take until March 26th. It also said, however, it would limit the trials to somewhere between 50,000 and 500,000 end users. Topeka itself has 122,000 residents.

Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten issued the proclamation Monday after no city council members objected to the month-long change. Officially, or rather, officially unofficially, Topeka will be renamed to “Google, Kansas — the capital city of fiber optics.”

But wait, what exactly is Google’s fiber-optic network you ask? It’s a new type of network that would put all other ISPs to shame.

It will run at 1 Gbps, whereas the typical DSL customer may see 1.5 Mbps, somewhere around 700 times slower. Google, which bases all its services and apps on the web (as well as its web advertising), would naturally want a faster Internet for the U.S. The U.S. lags behind many other countries in terms of broadband speeds and coverage.

Source: Examiner