Kansas City, here they come.
Google made their decision about who gets their first ultra high speed network, and the winner is Kansas City, Kansas. This is about 30 minutes away from my home in Lawrence, so while it's not literally in my back yard, it's close enough for a visit to a local shop for coffee and a side of ultra-fast Internet. Kansas City, Kansas is home of the University of Kansas Medical Center and Kansas City Community College.
When most people think of Kansas City, they think of the Missouri side of the metro area, but picking the Kansas side is smart. It gives Google room to expand into anther state and the nearby Kansas City International Airport, and it puts them next door to wireless company Sprint's headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas.
I'll be keeping an eye on the progress of this project as it develops. They expect to have service as early as 2012, and then they hope to expand their offerings across the country. Here's to hoping they can also expand to cover the city of KU's main campus (hint, hint) and neighboring communities.