On February 10th, Google Inc. announced plans to build new high-speed broadband networks in one or more places around the country. They said they would deliver broadband 100 times faster than most systems now available.

This is a national challenge – Google will commit their resources to developing gigabit fast broadband in a select few states, which are yet to be determined. Gigabit broadband is 100 times faster than everything we have in Hawaii now.

Google has huge resources, of course. They’re worth $180+ billion and rising. They’re totally innovative and experimenting and inventing new and potentially profitable things all the time. When they say they can do something, they can.

The point for Google isn't to go head-to-head with the broadband services which are already offered by AT&T, Comcast and other telephone and cable TV companies. It's to apply some not-so-subtle pressure on them to do more.

SHINE ON HAWAII

We want Google to shine the light on Hawaii, but other states want that too. It’s a competition. How do we win the competition? We must show them we need fast broadband, and we must show them we really, really want it.

Last week, Topeka, Kansas, announced they're answering Google's request for information. The city council said it's behind the effort. A group called "Think Big Topeka" is campaigning to build community and government support.

Can we compete against Topeka? We had Michael Jones here last year, but that’s not enough. We’ve got to send them a message that we want, need and would greatly appreciate their help on a project so critical to our state.

Do we need it? You bet we do. We’re 48th in the country. What makes this more painful, though, is that we weren’t always the 48th – at the turn of the century we were on top. Somehow, we’ve let it go, like so many other things.

Hard to believe, but there it is. An isolated island chain that needs broadband and telemedicine as much as any place in the world to keep in touch and keep up in the global competition. We need fast broadband, and we need it bad.

The tech guys recognize the importance of this challenge. That know that if Hawaii can catch Google’s eye, it’ll be like a shot in the arm to what is now certainly a tired economy with a tired workforce disabled by brain drain.

GIGABIT HAWAII

So when the challenge was issued a number of them came out right away. They spread the word with all the tools at hand, the web, email, social networking, you name it. I helped with some videos. vimeo.com/9655171.

They talked it up with the newspapers and bloggers got some articles published. They talked it up with tech and academic and business organizations in order to garner support from anyone representing anyone who might benefit.

HPR did a good two minute spot on the story, but to my knowledge none of the network TV channels have said anything about it. There was an Article in the Advertiser, but to my knowledge that was it. That’s nice, but not enough. We need like full page ads.

BIG BENEFITS

Lots of people would benefit if Google came to town. The tech industry would be far less isolated by our distance. Certainly new tech players would emerge because new speeds would allow new software, and we could write it here.

These companies could get venture capital for smart new web software, and then they could hire program developers and other staff, and buy equipment and take space and buy cars and houses and spend money all over town.

What I’m saying is that when you increase broadband speed by a multiple of 100, you’re likely to change the way your economy works. Everything moves faster, not only old systems but new systems we haven’t even thought of yet.

It means connectivity the likes of which we’ve never seen before. Connectivity that reaches out not only to the mainland but to Asia and everywhere, that raises our productivity and builds and revitalizes our economy, and quickly.

CAN WE DO IT

Certain individuals are working their buns off the get the word out – Dan Leuck, Kevin Hughes, Olin Lagon, Evan Tector, Scott Foster and others. They tech industry is well represented, but what about the business sector?

Sorry but it doesn’t look like the business sector is warming to the idea. There’s resistance at the mainstream trade associations, and as the tech industry knows it needs alliances to popularize any initiative. Remember 221.

We need the entire community to rise up if we are to get the brass ring on this. Every business organization needs to recognize and support the initiative and to motivate its members to support the initiative. Nothing less will suffice.

The tech guys have approached the newspapers and have gotten a certain amount of coverage, but will that be enough? Actually, this is the kind of thing that has to get lots of coverage, a full court press, if we are to be noticed.

The governor has made a statement in support of the initiative and that’s encouraging, but she has to do more than that. She has to push the thing every day. The legislature and the city council have to do that too.

They’re not doing it, not yet anyway. The deadline is less than three weeks from now. Will we get the steam up? As I told Ben Markus of Hawaii Public Radio last week, I’m not all that optimistic we’ll be able to do it.

APATHY RUNS DEEP

We need to get excited on this. That’s pretty much what we, as a community must do. But if we can only turn out 40% of the electorate to vote, and if we get stuck on so many initiatives and innovations, it doesn’t look good.

It’s more than just showing Google we have community spirit. It’s also showing ourselves that we are a winning team. The results of this challenge will affect our prospects with Google, but they will affect our own community self-image.

It’s worth a minute to examine the problems that make us so apathetic about an opportunity as good as this one. If someone were to offer you a whole new paradigm and a better economy, wouldn’t you go for it? Why don’t we?

Perhaps we don’t want to. We want to be comfortable in our status quo. We don’t want the shakeup that happens when you change the direction of the economy. The guys on top may lose their advantage. We can’t have that.

What would Singapore do? You know what they’d do. They’d be 100% behind the opportunity for progress at this scale. They know how important it is to get out in front. And their leaders know how important it is to act decisively.

THREE WEEKS TO GO

Gigabit Hawaii wants tens of thousands of residents to add their support by an internal March 15th deadline, when the community support petition will be transmitted to Google, which will be making initial selections after March 26th.

In the best of all worlds, yes we can do it. We have to get together on things. That will take more than a gubernatorial nod, it will take a parade in the street, led by both the governor and the mayor. It will take a popular uprising.

We need popular education about the stakes here on an immediate basis. We need every media that breathes to make the point to every reader and user and listener. We need to come together and show Google what we’re made of.

The social networks have to network overtime. The schools have to pick up on this. People have to go out on a limb and tell their employees and students and friends and relatives. Everyone has to know about it, and be convinced.

This is not only an opportunity for the tech community to show how well their net tools work, and how their viral messaging can affect community thinking overnight. It’s time for conventional structures to get in tune right alongside.

When you think about it, this is the biggest opportunity we’ve had in years. Here’s a powerful multinational offering to help us remake ourselves. Do we take its hand or ignore the offer. At the end of the day, it’s ours to lose.

This session is about balancing the budget and avoiding financial disaster for the lack of tax revenues. Companies are succumbing to the recession. Google may be offering the keys to recovery, at Google’s expense. What’s not to like?

I MEAN YOU

So go on the petition sites and sign up. How much trouble is it to put your name down on one of those petitions? There’s no risk and no downside. This is not at all controversial or dangerous. If you read this, you’ve got to do it.

Want to know the sites? Well here they are:

www.techhui.com/page/gigabit-hi
www.petitionspot.com/petitions/gigabithi

Of course, you could just ignore this whole thing, stay in your workaday silo and grouse your way through years of dead-end tourism, continuing brain drain and third world isolation. Same old apathy on this one is really nuts.