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Google Will Potentially Expand Its Fiber-Optic, High-Speed Internet Service To Dallas

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Don't get too excited: Dallas is being considered by Google as a "potential Fiber city."

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Dallas would be the third city in Texas to have access to Google’s high-speed internet; several memorial services for Orlando victims will be held in Dallas this week; these D-FW animals probably have more Instagram followers than you; and more.

Google Fiber, the tech monolith’s super fast (1,000 megabits per second versus average of 14.2) internet and television service could potentially come to Dallas. Austin has Fiber for months, and San Antonio is undergoing construction for the service, meaning thousands of miles of fiber optic cables are being built directly to businesses and homes, according to a blog post from Google.

Now, the Mountain View, California-based company is looking into expanding its Texas reach, citing Dallas as one of the “best cities to work in tech.” While Dallas is appealing to Google, the company says implementing Fiber will be a “huge undertaking.”

 

“Working alongside Mayor Mike Rawlings and local leaders, we’ll use our Fiber checklist to learn more about local topography, existing infrastructure, and other factors that may impact construction. Building a fiber optic network through a dense and complex urban environment like Dallas is challenging—these discussions will help us deploy our network efficiently and responsibly.”

Google contacted the city last month to gauge its interest, according to The Verge. However, when San Antonio was named as one of Google’s “potential cities” like Dallas is now, it took the company 17 months to make final decision. If the timeline played out similarly, Dallas residents could be in for a wait.

 

Besides powerful internet and television service, Google hopes the Dallas community would benefit economically. Installing Fiber could provide a couple hundred construction jobs, Dallas Business Journal reported.

 

But, Jill Szuchmacher, Fiber’s director of expansion, told the publication “Google would rather think about what this service will do in the long-run for Dallas: what opportunities Fiber will create for small businesses and startups; and what this will enable the city and community to do.”

 

See the other cities being considered for the service. [Google, Dallas Business Journal, The Verge, The Associated Press]

 

  • Dallas’ Perot Museum is taking science to the streets with a new TECH Truck stopping at Arcadia Park Library from 10 a.m. to noon. The colorfully painted “Tinker, Engineer, Create and Hack” truck, powered by Dell computers, is equipped with educators and hands-on science, tech, engineering, art and math activities for kids to explore. This is the museum’s second outfitted van after its successful first ride in October. Since then, the lab on wheels has reached more than 11,000 North Texas across 122 different stops at libraries, rec centers and schools, according to a press release. The program aims to engage people who can’t make it to the museum’s brick-and-mortar location. [Perot Museum of Nature and Science, KERA News]   

 

  • More opportunities to remember victims of and those affected by the Orlando massacre are happening in Dallas this week. A service of “lament and prayer” in response to the Orlando tragedy will be held at noon today at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins Chapel. The service is free and open to the public, according to Dallas Voice. Tomorrow at 7 p.m. Restland Funeral Home will host an Interfaith Hour of Prayer for people of all faiths to come light a candle and say a prayer for Orlando victims and their families. [Dallas Voice]

  • Adding cute animals pictures to your media diet never hurt anyone, right? GuideLive put together 10 adorable animal accounts from Dallas-Fort Worth that could be just the right amount of sweetness for your feed. Bacon the piglet, Nelson the goldendoodle and Tingo the hedgehog are much more than domestic companions, they’re outright social media celebrities with several hundred to more than 150,000 followers. If you can beat ‘em, join ‘em.
  • A seventh case of Zika virus in Dallas County was reported Monday. Dallas County Health and Human Services reported a 60-year-old patient contracting the virus during a trip to Honduras, according to WFAA. Six other cases have been reported in Dallas County, none of which were transmitted by local mosquitoes carrying the virus. However, one case was sexually transmitted. Typical symptoms of Zika include fever, rash, joint and muscle pain, headache and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week. For Zika 101, read this from Dallas County Health. [WFAA]