Frequently Asked Questions

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What is Google planning to build?

Ultra-high speed fiber-optic broadband networks in one or more locations across the country. Google is offering Internet speeds of one gigabit per second, from 100 to 1,000 times faster than what anyone in the greater Duluth-Superior area currently enjoys.

What is a fiber-optic network?

Instead of a copper telephone line (DSL service) or a coaxial cable (cable internet) fiber-optic service delivers the data over a flexible fiber, allowing for almost unlimited growth and speeds for Internet, phones and data. Copper and coaxial cable can’t be expanded. Fiber is therefore the technology of the future, much faster and more reliable than wireless Internet.

Why would I really need anything faster than what I have?

This change would make what you have now feel like a dial-up connection. Just like when broadband replaced dial-up you were able to view videos online and use the Internet more effectively, ultra high-speed bandwidth will create a new wave of innovation. Many of the new web-based applications that are being developed that require higher speed include high-definition video. The services being developed will allow the elderly for example to interact with medical specialists and relatives in other cities from the comfort of their homes through high quality video feeds. Benefits also include teachers working remotely with students in vastly superior ways than the current Internet allows, and dramatically increasing access to more jobs.

What impact would it have on this community?

It would serve as a colossal, new economic engine, akin to the benefits of sitting beside Lake Superior. The experiment would likely turn Duluth-Superior into a Midwestern technology-innovation hub. Many new programs and services requiring ultra-high speed fiber will naturally be created in communities that have fiber. Many existing businesses now want their employees to have the speed and access at home that they have in their business facilities. People could also return to the region, precisely because they could work from here, thanks to the high Internet speeds. This project would bring the kind of outside economic investment and international attention to Duluth-Superior that came to the first towns that received the railroad or electricity.

How much will it cost the average taxpayer?

Google plans to offer the service at about the price you’re paying now for Internet service, or cheaper. There may be a small connection charge to bring the wire from the street to your home, but a precise figure isn’t known yet. If you don’t personally want the service, you’d pay nothing, and neither would your city.

Why is Google doing this?

Google says its goal is to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better and faster for everyone.

Why am I being asked to help?

Google wants to find one or more communities where it’s obvious the residents truly want the company to come. Area residents need to show Google that Duluth-Superior is focused on building a sustainable economy, is progressive and filled with talent, and is undergoing an economic renaissance. How organized and excited the community is, what infrastructure is currently available and many other factors will play into the decision. Please visit www.googletwinports.com where you’ll be walked through how to urge Google to come to Duluth-Superior.