Congressman Cleaver congratulates Kansas City, Missouri on being selected for Google Fiber for Communities initiative
The City of Kansas City, Missouri announced today that it has been selected to collaborate with Google on the deployment of Google’s ultra high-speed broadband network. This network will deliver Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit (or 1,000 megabits) per second—100 times faster than what most people have access to today. As the second city to be selected for this initiative, Kansas City, Missouri joins Kansas City, Kansas, in a regional partnership that will help ensure our communities’ shared success.
“I congratulate Mayor Sly James, the city government, and Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) – the first investor-owned utility take on this kind of effort – on this incredibly impressive initiative, which will allow new technology, innovation, and economic development to flourish in Kansas City, Missouri. Mayor James and the new council, in less than a month, have been able to bring Google to Kansas City. So we are expecting an NBA team next week.”
This project attracted the attention of nearly 1,100 communities across the country. The city’s application was a collaborative effort, involving a variety of community stakeholders including the City of Kansas City, KCP&L, KCADC, KCNext, the Kauffman Foundation, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Kansas City Missouri School District, Brush Creek Community Partners, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Black Economic Union and the Mid-America Regional Council. In the end, Google selected Kansas City, on both sides of the river, as a place where they could build efficiently, make an impact on the community, and develop working partnerships with the local government, utility and community organizations.
For more information about the Google Fiber for Communities initiative in Kansas City, please click here.
Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Belton, Raymore and Peculiar, Missouri. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee. Congressman Cleaver also serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus and Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.