While Google Fiber had already been available in the majority of Sunset Valley, the Meadows and Villas neighborhoods had been left behind.
During the pandemic, members of the Sunset Valley Teen Commission advocated for Google to complete the service in their neighborhoods by researching information on the project, sending handwritten letters to Google Fiber and bringing attention to City Council.
“The reality is that the Meadows and Villas neighborhoods of Sunset Valley have been left behind from a technology perspective,” Teen Commissioner Keri Collins said during a City Council meeting in January 2022. “My own research and experience indicates that we have some of the worst internet speed and reliability in the area. Students like myself are some of the citizens who suffer the most from our inability to get Google to finish its installation of fiber in this area.”
According to the Teen Commission, unreliable internet made attending school virtually and completing homework difficult throughout the pandemic.
“We’re really thankful for [Google Fiber] coming out here to do this and bring us faster internet speed and reliability,” Collins said. “Initially it all started when we sent out a public information request to just learn more about Google Fiber when everything was failing with Zoom. We're super happy that it ended up where it is today.”
On Jan. 9, four members of the Teen Commission, including Collins, toured the construction site in the Meadows neighborhood. John-Micheal Cortez, Google Fiber government and community affairs manager, led the commission members through the neighborhood, explaining the process of installing the internet service.
Residents in the Meadows neighborhood previously only had access to one internet provider, but now can choose to continue with that service or opt in for Google Fiber. Neighbors are not required to sign up for the service, but will have the opportunity to do so.
“The reason why Google Fiber was founded is because the internet service provider industry has for generations not had enough competition. And it really is about not having multiple options,” Cortez said. “That's really a big impact to offer more choices, higher quality, more reliability. It gets the whole industry to do a better job.”
Construction is expected to be completed by Jan. 16, and after running tests, Google Fiber will be available in the next few weeks to residents.
“This certainly wouldn’t have happened anytime soon without your advocacy,” Cortez said to the teen commissioners Jan. 9. “Don’t stop doing that with other things you need in your community.”
