It’s well known that technology is a huge component in a business’ success or failure, so small business owners may want to keep an eye on Kansas City, Kan., where Google is testing its ultra high speed Internet service. Google Fiber will be available to a limited number of small Kansas City businesses by the end of the year, the Kansas City Star reported.
Many business owners there are jumping at the chance to be considered for the test, because Google Fiber allows for upload and download speeds of 1 gigabit per second, which is a remarkable 100 times faster than what most U.S. consumers are used to. The service runs fiber optic lines from member companies’ networks directly to consumers’ homes.
“As the web has gotten faster, it has also gotten more useful – activities like streaming movies, storing files online, video chatting and more were all enabled by broadband connections over a decade ago, and the next chapter of the web will run on even faster speeds,” Google said of the service.
Kansas City isn’t the only city where the service is being tested for businesses, as it’s currently also available in Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah. However, Kansas City’s home service began in 2012. Among the 34 cities where it may potentially be available are Nashville, Tenn.; Atlanta; Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; San Antonio; Phoenix; Salt Lake City; San Jose, Calif.; and Portland, Ore.
How can it help small businesses?
Before being accepted as part of the Google Fiber plan in Kansas City, small business owners had to answer questions relating to what industry they’re in, how many employees they have, if managers have Google Fiber service at home, whether they use remote Internet storage and what technical issues they experience with their current Internet service.
In anticipation of the Google Fiber launch, small businesses are buzzing in the city’s appropriately named Kansas City Startup Village. A nationally recognized chef told Forbes that she’s very excited about the service and hopes her restaurant is chosen to be part of the test.
“It would certainly be a selling point for me when I am trying to rent the second floor of my building in the Crossroads,” Celina Tio said. “It may help sway a tech start up or any business, for that matter.”
Of course, Google Fiber won’t be free for businesses who use it, so owners who adopt the technology – whether as part of the new test or in the future if it rolls out permanently – should seek increased working capital from alternative lenders like National Funding.
