BusinessTN

In any situation where the end game is more eyeballs online, more Web pages viewed and more advertising space sold, Google is sure to come out a winner. That inevitable fact hardly gave pause to elected officials hailing from communities nationwide intent on being selected for the online behemoth's proposed experimental fiber network. Applications were due March 26 and Google plans to announce the cities in which it will install its fiber Internet connections -- with speeds 100 times faster than current providers -- later this year.

A handful of Tennessee cities applied for consideration. Playing up his city's technological aptitude, Memphis mayor A C Wharton Jr. announced his city's decision to apply for Google fiber from his Twitter account. Led by Wharton, the Memphis community has united in a creative effort to get Google's attention. Memphians have posted videos, sent letters and established Web sites listing the benefits of a fiber network in the Bluff City. (See the official site at memphisgoogle.net.) World-renowned filmmaker Spike Lee can even be found on a YouTube clip acting as a celebrity endorser for the city's selection.

From a more practical standpoint, Memphis officials point out that Google would find negotiations less difficult and construction less problematic in Memphis than in many other cities nationwide given that the city's primary utility -- the massive Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) -- owns 100% of the city's poles and utility right-of-way. City boosters are also quick to point out that Google's ultra-fast fiber network would help expand on opportunities provided by a recent $90 million gift to the Memphis public school system by the Gates Foundation, a potential win-win they hope will inspire Google to select Memphis for its experiment.

Oak Ridge is another city with unique assets that Google could see as advantageous. A smaller population and access to some of the world's most sophisticated supercomputers may entice Google to the East Tennessee city. ORNL houses the world's fastest (Jaguar) and third fastest (Kraken) supercomputers. A third supercomputer will be operating next year through a $215 million agreement between ORNL and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, making ORNL the only location with such a selection of high-tech machines. The research done on these computers, which involves international market trends, climate change, efficient energy, and numerous other studies, could arguably be shared with the world in newer, more interactive and faster methods via a Google partnership.

Tom Ballard, Director of the Partnerships Directorate at ORNL, sums up the potential upside for the city of Oak Ridge of landing Google's network this way: "If you are competing for world-class scientific talent, which we are, a community with the sort of deployment to the home that Google is talking about makes that community much more attractive to that talent. It's an enabler, pure and simple," he says.

Johnson City, which was already considering an investment in fiber-to-home Internet connections before Google's fiber project took flight, has also filed an application for the Google network. The Johnson City Power Board (JCPB) has completed an in-house preliminary market analysis, as well as economic impact studies, which would save Google time and money if the city were to be selected. JCPB has 75,000 customers -- a relatively small footprint for Google but one that nevertheless exceeds its proposed minimum. The city's already established interest in faster broadband may serve as compelling evidence to Google that the Washington County community is ripe and ready for deployment.

Other Tennessee applicants are also hopeful. The Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) is involved in that city's bid and has offered up information on KUB operations such as the number of utility poles available, construction information and other technical aspects of Knoxville's power. UT-Knoxville's large educational presence in the city would clearly be of benefit to the world's fastest Internet that Google proposes to create. Likewise, Spring Hill officials are highlighting that city's manageable population and proximity to health care nexus Nashville and technology and space exploration hotbed Huntsville, Ala., as upsides for Google.

Steketee Greiner Company, a digital marketing firm based in Grand Rapids, Mich., has identified what it believes to be the frontrunners in the competition for Google fiber. The company is using a measurement system that may or may not be what Google will use to determine its picks. The report, which will be updated monthly until Google makes a decision, measures "shared voice" -- meaning that leading cities are determined essentially based on tallies of the recent use of keywords pertaining to Google fiber online on Web searches, blogs, twitter accounts and the like. While Duluth, Minn., and Topeka, Kan., top the list, Memphis is solidly positioned at #7 at present.

Realistically, digital fanfare and local enthusiasm may have no bearing whatsoever on Google's selection process. The company has been tactfully vague in listing its criteria. One line of information published on the company's Web site, though, suggests that infrastructure and ease of access in communities may play an important role in selection. "Above all, we're interested in deploying our network efficiently and quickly, and are hoping to identify interested communities that will work with us to achieve this goal," the statement reads.

Steketee Greiner partner David Greiner admits that infrastructure more than civic enthusiasm will likely factor into Google's ultimate decision. "I think infrastructure would be a huge piece of it," he says. "Not that Google doesn't have the money to build something from scratch, but if they have the option to not spend money tearing up streets to put in fiber optic lines that would be a plus."

As such, a commitment to staying out of Google's hair could end up being the fastest way for Tennessee cities to land the world's fastest Internet.