By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
August 15, 2012

Historic Northeast neighborhoods are rallying for Google Fiber, but Northeast News discovered not everyone knows how to pre-register for the service.

To receive Google Fiber, eligible neighborhoods must meet Google’s pre-registration goals by Sept. 9. If a neighborhood fails to meet its goal, it doesn’t receive Fiber.

Dubbed “fiberhoods,” each neighborhood is pitted against the other, racing to receive the service first. Google will rank neighborhoods based on pre-registration numbers and those with the highest percentage registered will receive the service first. Those signed up for service will be connected by the end of 2013, Google said.

Currently, Google is only accepting pre-registrations from residences, not businesses.

To pre-register, visit https://fiber.google.com and click on the pre-register button. Enter your street address and Google will tell you where your fiberhood is located. Cost to pre-register is $10. The $10 fee will go toward the purchase of Google Fiber if your neighborhood meets its goal. If your neighborhood doesn’t meet its goal, the $10 will be refunded. Residents must pre-register by Sept. 9.

If you’re a landlord or property manager of a Kansas City residential property and would like Google Fiber, visit http://support.google.com/fiber/bin/request.py?contact_type=mdu_interest to fill out the form. Then, rally your tenants to pre-register for Google Fiber.

For questions, call (866) 777-7550.

Google Fiber explained

Google Fiber boasts it will provide Internet speeds 100 times faster than today’s average broadband. It will also offer Internet speeds of one gigabit per second (Gbps), or 1000 megabits per second (Mbps). That means speedier downloading and uploading and the elimination of buffering. In addition to Internet packages, Google will offer an Internet/TV package which will include a Nexus 7 tablet to use as a remote control and a 2 Terabyte DVR to record and save shows.

Google meeting this Thursday

The Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum will host a Google Fiber Northeast Regional meeting Thursday, Aug. 16, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Learn more about Google Fiber, its possibilities and how it can affect Historic Northeast. The meeting will be held at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, 1616 E. 18th St., Kansas City, Mo.

Free Internet Service

•If neighborhoods achieve their pre-registration goals, a number of entities will receive free Internet service as a result.

Those include:

Budd Park: Northeast High School

Independence Plaza: Police Service Station, Lincoln Univ. Extension Program

Indian Mound West: Gladstone Elementary School, Holy Cross Catholic School

Indian Mound East: James Elementary School

South Indian Mound: North-East Public Library

Lykins North: Fire Station 23

Lykins South: Whittier Elementary School

Pendleton Heights (goal met):

Garfield Elementary School, Scuola Vita Nuova Charter School and the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences

Scarritt Point (Renaissance) North (goal met):

Kansas City Museum

Google Fiber – Latest Stats

NE Neighborhoods still rallying

-Budd Park- 9 more residents needed

-Independence Plaza- 91 more needed

-Indian Mound West- 13 more needed
-Indian Mound East- 27 more needed

-South Indian Mound- 33 more needed

-Lykins North- 48 more needed
-Lykins South- 20 more needed
-Scarritt Point (Renaissance) South- 19 more needed
-Sheffield West- 27 more needed (0 percent have registered)

NE Neighborhoods guaranteed fiber: 
-Pendleton Heights – 176 have registered, surpassing 10 percent goal
-Scarritt Point (Renaissance) North – 51 have pre-registered, surpassing 5 percent goal