Google Fiber Blog: 2019

Official Blog

The latest news from the Fiber team

Using your digital superpowers for good

Friday, August 16, 2019

It’s National Nonprofit Day! To mark the occasion, we’re excited to have a post from Jeff Hilimire, founder of 48in48, one of our nonprofit partners dedicated to helping other nonprofits make the most of their online presence. Jeff is also CEO of Atlanta-based Dragon Army.

“How do I find a way for my team members to use their skills in digital marketing to help nonprofits in Atlanta?”
That was the question I kept asking myself as my first digital agency, Spunlogic, grew to almost 100 employees in the mid-2000s. In those days, we would volunteer every quarter at local nonprofits like soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and food drives — but we weren’t giving back with our greatest strengths, our digital skills, which allowed us to help our paying clients build brands and connect with their customers.
I wrestled with this question for almost a decade, understanding that in today’s landscape the ability for a nonprofit to connect with donors, volunteers, and team members through digital channels would be paramount to their success.
Then it hit me:“What if I put on a hackathon that brought together 150 volunteers to build as many nonprofit websites as possible in a single weekend?”
The idea for 48in48 was born. In 2015, I asked my good friend, Adam Walker, to co-found this new organization with me and we hosted our first event later that year in Atlanta. The idea was to build 48 new websites in 48 hours, pairing great digital talent with nonprofits doing essential work in our communities. That event was so well received that we decided to host a spring event in New York, followed by our second Atlanta event later in the fall of 2016. When both of those events went exceptionally well, we knew we were on to something.
In 2017, we hosted events in Atlanta, New York, Boston, and Minneapolis. And then in 2018, we put on events in six cities: Atlanta, New York, Boston, Chapel Hill (NC), Bloomington (IL), and our first international event in London!
Today, we’ve organized 14 events, helped more than 650 nonprofits, and registered 2,000+ volunteers — and we’re just getting started!
We haven’t done this alone. Google Fiber has been a sponsor since our first year, and we’ve worked with them in a number of capacities. From serving on our board to bringing their talents to help our nonprofit clients optimize their online presence, our relationship with Google Fiber has allowed us to increase our impact. We’ve used key partnerships like this with other brands too, like Delta Air Lines and State Farm, to help us continue to scale. Without their support, we wouldn’t have been able to dream so big.
"We had a record number of users come to our application this year, which we credit to the ease of access and information on our website. Our online presence finally matches who we are as an organization – forward thinking, efficient, sharp, and in constant pursuit of excellence. This shift moves us onto a new level for how we talk to the public, and our donors love it! We owe so much of that to the team at 48in48 for giving us an incredible website template,” said Jeannette Rankin, founder of the Women’s Scholarship Fund.
Our goal is to create a service opportunity where 10,000 marketing and technology volunteers can donate their skills for good on an annual basis. We’d love your help in this mission! Find out how you can get involved today at 48in48.org.

At an Atlanta 48in48 hackathon, volunteers work with nonprofit leaders to develop the right digital approach.

Posted by Guest Blogger Jeff Hilimire, founder, 48in48, and CEO of Dragon Army . ~~~

author.name: Jeff Hilimire
author.title: Founder, 48in48, and CEO, Dragon Army
category: community_impact

Google

Bringing Webpass to Austin

Tuesday, August 06, 2019

When Webpass joined Google Fiber in 2016, we were excited about Webpass’s strong record of execution and growth in providing super fast, reliable Internet to residents and small businesses in densely populated areas. We knew their point-to-point wireless approach -- which provides internet speeds up to 1 gig without the need for significant construction work -- would add a powerful tool to our deployment toolkit and allow us to deliver speedy Internet to condos and apartment buildings faster than we ever could before.
Since Webpass became part of the Google Fiber family, the Webpass team has continued to build on its success, expanding service to Seattle and Denver over the past two years and continuing to grow in existing Webpass cities. Webpass now serves tens of thousands of residents and small businesses across thousands of buildings.
At the same time Webpass has been expanding its footprint and making it even easier for customers to get online, Google Fiber has been working to figure out how to bring Internet to customers more quickly in their cities while reducing disruption. While Webpass and Google Fiber are sister companies, our work has been separate without combining our efforts or product offerings.
Until today.
Google Fiber and Webpass are proud to announce Google Fiber Webpass, launching today in Austin:

This is the first time we’re bringing the best of both Google Fiber and Webpass together in the same city, and we’re excited to have another way to deliver super fast, reliable Internet to even more customers in Austin. We’re starting downtown and are adding new buildings to our network as quickly as possible. To help us bring Google Fiber Webpass gig service to your apartment or condo building, check out webpass.net/austin.Ready to get online right now? You can find out if service is available in your building and sign up on the Google Fiber website. We’re excited to bring Google Fiber and Webpass together in Austin and are looking forward to connecting you!
Posted by Brien Bell, Head of Webpass
~~~
author.name: Brien Bellauthor.title: Head of Webpasscategory: city_news

Google

Growing the Digital Inclusion Ecosystem

Thursday, May 02, 2019

Earlier this month, my teammates and I attended the 2019 Net Inclusion conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. As the Government and Community Affairs team (formerly known as the “Community Impact Team”) for Google Fiber, we are responsible for building and investing in partnerships that help narrow the digital divide across the Google Fiber footprint.
The gathering, organized by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), provided a valuable opportunity to listen and learn from digital inclusion leaders on the front lines of improving their respective communities. We also had the chance to see the progress of the broader digital inclusion movement -- a movement that is bigger than any one program, strategy or organization.
As a Google Fiber city and home to several leading digital inclusion organizations, the City of Charlotte offered many learning opportunities for those interested in starting, improving or expanding digital inclusion programming for residents. Many of these learnings are captured in the recently published Digital Inclusion Start-Up Manual, which was authored by NDIA and sponsored by Google Fiber. The manual includes recommendations for developing a community digital inclusion program, among other resources.
Throughout the conference, dozens of digital inclusion leaders took part in lightning round sessions featuring innovative programs from across the country. From leveraging technology to expand educational opportunities across the world to the development of low cost digital literacy evaluation tools, our team was inspired by these innovative approaches from community-based practitioners. In fact, it was during the lightning rounds of last year’s conference that we first discovered Libraries Without Borders’ Wash and Learn Initiative. Since then, we have kicked off a partnership with Libraries Without Borders to pilot their program in San Antonio.
We were also excited to see the announcement of the 2019 Charles Benton Digital Equity Champions. Honorees included Casey Sorensen, CEO of Minnesota-based PCs for People, and Munirih Jester, Digital Inclusion Program Manager for the San Antonio Housing Authority. Munirih began her role as one of the very first NTEN Digital Inclusion Fellows, a program Google Fiber co-founded with NTEN in 2015 and that is now in its fifth cohort. These champions manage programs aimed at reducing the digital divide within their respective communities.
Many thanks to the NDIA team for organizing another successful event, the Charlotte Google Fiber team for hosting a fun-filled reception, and local digital inclusion leaders for opening your doors to Net Inclusion visitors.
We know the digital divide remains a persistent challenge — and that none of us can solve it alone. Google Fiber has learned a lot about digital inclusion each year since our launch in 2012; and the conference made clear that the digital inclusion ecosystem continues to grow and get stronger. We continue to learn from leaders across the country working hard to get more of their neighbors connected, and we look forward to chipping away at the divide right alongside them.

Munirih Jester, Digital Inclusion Program Manager at the San Antonio Housing Authority, receives the 2019Charles Benton Digital Equity Champion award from Adrianne Furniss, Executive Director of the Benton Foundation

Posted by Clarissa Ramon, Government and Community Affairs Manager, San Antonio~~~~author.name: Clarissa Ramon author.title: San Antonio Government and Community Affairs Managercategory: community_impactimagealign: top

Google

Saying Goodbye to Louisville

Thursday, February 07, 2019

Hey there’sour other Fiber citieswe noted at the timeencountered challengesour micro trenching methodsmany other reasons

Google

Introducing the 5th Cohort of Digital Inclusion Fellows

Monday, January 28, 2019

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?’” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I think about these words often in my work, especially around this time of year. The notion of “doing for others” - particularly those in less advantageous positions - is what drove me to become a community organizer and has stayed with me throughout my career.

Growing up in South Texas, I felt the effect of the digital divide first hand, and the huge impact that something as simple as Internet access can have on a family. It wasn’t until I was almost a senior in high school that my family finally got an Internet connection at home. That connection (on an old computer, over a dial-up modem) is what allowed me to research and apply to colleges and scholarships, and ultimately is the reason I was able to obtain my bachelor’s and master’s degrees — both “firsts” for my family. But it would not be a “last,” as all four of my younger brothers would go on to college, as well as my mother who pursued her degree later in life, taking courses online!

Even now, as a Community Impact Manager at Google Fiber, I ask myself this question every day: what am I doing to help people impacted by the digital divide? The idea of giving people access to opportunity has been a piece of Google Fiber’s mission since the beginning — we believe in the power of the Internet to empower people and their communities.

That’s why today we’re excited to announce the newest cohort of Digital Inclusion Fellows. Four years ago, Google Fiber cofounded this program with NTEN to grow the community of digital literacy leaders, advocates and practitioners across the country. Fellows work with their nonprofit host organizations to provide programming to their communities aimed at building technology skills and growing access.

We can’t wait to see what our 2019 Digital Inclusion Fellows do in each of their cities:

Austin, TX - Gabryella Desporte, Latinitas
Charlotte, NC - Kyra Gomez, Charlotte Bilingual Preschool
Carrboro/Raleigh-Durham, NC - Samuel Maldonado, Orange County Literacy Council
Salt Lake City, UT - Krysti Nellermoe, International Rescue Committee
San Antonio, TX - Emily Flores, San Antonio Public Library

You can find more information on all the 2019 fellows here.

As a former Digital Inclusion Fellow, I can tell you that this program is more critical than ever. In my time as a Fellow here in Texas, I worked with Austin Free-Net to connect Austin’s underserved communities with digital resources and skills. We raised awareness by creating Austin’s first Digital Inclusion Day, we held the city’s first Digital Resource Fair and we strengthened the organization’s volunteer trainer program. But most importantly, I got to build a professional network of amazing people who were working on the same challenges across the country, day in and day out.

We’re incredibly proud not only of the work we’ve done through this program -- we’ve provided nearly 73,000 hours of training for more than 16,000 unique participants across all our Google Fiber markets over the past four years-- but also of the Fellows and program alumni, many of whom are now leading digital equity work in their communities and nationally.