In 2003, The Dalles, Oregon (pop: 12,175), built a 17 mile fiber optic loop around the City. The fiber network, called Q-Life, was a big factor in bringing the Googleplex to The Dallas.
The city is now planning to go wireless (pdf).
The QualityLife Intergovernmental Agency (QLife) has an Request for Proposals (pdf) out for the design, implementation and operation of a pilot broadband wireless mesh network for residents, businesses, visitors and government agencies.
Phase One (the pilot network infrastructure) is to be implemented within 120 days from contract execution.
John Markoff and Saul Hansell of The New York Times have the story on Google’s project in Oregon.
“Google has constructed the biggest computer in the world, and it’s a hidden asset,” said Danny Hillis, a supercomputing pioneer and the cofounder of Applied Minds, a technology consulting firm, referring to the Googleplex. The project has created hundreds of construction jobs, caused local real estate prices to jump 40 percent and is expected to create 60 to 200 permanent jobs in a town of 12,000 people when the center opens later this year.
Related DailyWireless stories include; Free MAN in Hood River, Oregon MuniFiber: the Bad & the Good, GoogleNet?, Oregon Fiber for Google, DailyWireless Testifies for Muni Broadband.
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