American City and County

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There cannot be much doubt about the earnestness of Topeka, Kan., officials' desire to be included in Mountain View, Calif.-based Google's Fiber for Communities program. For the month of March, the small city has been dubbed Google, Kansas The Capital of Fiber Optics. For Fiber for Communities, Google will test ultra-high-speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country.

There cannot be much doubt about the earnestness of Topeka, Kan., officials' desire to be included in Mountain View, Calif.-based Google's “Fiber for Communities” program. For the month of March, the small city has been dubbed “Google, Kansas — The Capital of Fiber Optics.” For “Fiber for Communities,” Google will test ultra-high-speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country. Topeka made its non-official name change by proclamation in early March in an effort to bring particular attention to its “Fiber for Communities” application, which it submitted in February. “It's just fun. We're having a good time of [the name change,]” Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten told CNN in an interview. Bunten also told CNN that the name change was definitely not permanent. “We are very proud of our city, and Topeka is an Indian word, which means ‘a good place to grow potatoes,’” the mayor said. “We're not going to change that.”

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It’s all about "connectivity" – the connection between government and its citizens, and the real and perceived benefits that arise from that. Governments manage more effectively and efficiently through greater public input and feedback.

on Apr. 27, 2012
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