Ontario County, N.Y., Applying for Google Test Site

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- A day after Google's blog that rocked the blogosphere, Axcess Ontario is announcing it wants Ontario County, N.Y., to serve as a Google test site.

Axcess Ontario, the public-benefit corporation overseeing the development of the County's 180-mile, open-access fiber ring, started the official application process on behalf of the county government yesterday and hopes to complete it early next week.

In a blogpost yesterday morning, Google announced it was seeking trial locations for ultra-fast broadband networks. The company issued a Request for Information (RFI) to communities nationwide seeking test sites for an experiment to make Internet access better, faster and less expensive for everyone. Its networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections.

What Google seeks to accomplish is exactly what the Ontario County fiber optic ring was built for, said Axcess Ontario President and CEO Ed Hemminger.

"Ontario County should be at the top of Google's list of potential test sites — we've been working on this project for seven years," Hemminger said. "And with the 180 miles of fiber scheduled for completion by the end of the year, Ontario County is perfectly positioned for Google's experiment."

A rural/suburban community outside Rochester, N.Y., Ontario County has committed $12 million to its fiber ring project. Approximately 60 miles of the fiber ring are complete and currently being used by service providers such as Verizon Wireless, tw telecom and Finger Lakes Technology Group to provide cost-effective telecommunications to businesses along the 60 miles. The remainder of the ring will be completed this year. This means Ontario County actually has the infrastructure to do what Google wants to do — and quickly.

"Our community had the vision, knowledge and the foresight to invest in a fiber infrastructure that is critical to American innovation and economic growth," Hemminger said. "The fiber ring ensures our community will never be left behind in the global economy, and this week we can see with the Google experiment that Ontario County, N.Y., may, in fact, have an opportunity to lead the way."

About Axcess Ontario.

Imagine where fiber technology can take us. Axcess Ontario has. With an open-access, dark-fiber infrastructure and a non-profit approach — serving as an example for a national model — the 180-mile fiber ring has Ontario County on the fast track to greater economic development, better quality of life, and global competitiveness. By providing this critical source for advanced connectivity and increased flexibility through quicker, more affordable broadband, businesses and organizations, as well as residents, will have improved capabilities like never before. To date, 60 miles of the fiber ring are complete; completion of the entire ring is on schedule to be completed by the end of 2010.

Note for telecom carriers and other service providers:

By tapping into the fiber ring's advanced fiber technology, service providers can provide faster service with greater capabilities and more cost savings for customers, all while expanding your company's footprint and subscriber base. Get up to speed and on board with fiber technology for your company's future growth. For more information, please call Axcess Ontario Chief Executive Officer Ed Hemminger at 585-396-4502.

SOURCE Axcess Ontario