I worked with one city that was bidding for the Google high speed internet project, and today Google announced they picked Kansas City, Kansas.

Ultra high-speed broadband is coming to Kansas City, Kansas

3/30/2011 09:00:00 AM

As part of our overall goal to make the web better for users, last year we announced a new project: to provide a community with Internet access more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have today. The response was overwhelming—nearly 1,100 cities felt theneed for speed—and we were thrilled by the enthusiasm we saw across the country for better and faster web connections. Thank you to every community and individual that submitted a response, joined a rally, starred in a YouTube video or otherwise participated.
After a careful review, today we’re very happy to announce that we will build our ultra high-speed network in Kansas City, Kansas. We’ve signed a development agreement with the city, and we’ll be working closely with local organizations, businesses and universities to bring a next-generation web experience to the community.

One of the points I made to the city I was working with is the proximity to Google data centers. Well look what happens when you plot Kansas City (B)vs. the two local Google data centers in Council Bluffs, IA (A) and Pryor, OK (C).

How can you argue with the logic for network placement at the midpoint between two Google data centers? Maybe when some of the loser cities look at this map, they'll realize it is hard to argue with the logical placement.

Update 4:15PM: We’ve heard from some communities that they’re disappointed not to have been selected for our initial build. So just to reiterate what I've said many times in interviews: we're so thrilled by the interest we've generated—today is the start, not the end the project. And over the coming months, we'll be talking to other interested cities about the possibility of us bringing ultra high-speed broadband to their communities.