Although hopes of an NCAA title for Wisconsin’s largest university were dashed this weekend, officials are confident the city of Madison has what it takes to make a solid run at another title: Test city for Google’s upcoming ultra high-speed Internet experiment.

Google Fiber, which would provide Internet at speeds potentially more than 100 times faster than what most homes and businesses use today, has incited strong interest from communities across the United States.

While Madison faces stiff competition from other cities including Memphis, Tenn., Milwaukee, Duluth, Minn. and those with populations between 50,000 and 500,000, officials say the city’s existing infrastructure and social makeup are more than enough to attract the attention of Google.

Google Fiber basics

In early February, Google issued a request for information from cities interested in testing a new type of ultra high-speed Internet. Dubbed Google Fiber, the technology would make use of networks of fiber optic cables to bring access to thousands of homes.

While many thousands of miles of these cables are already installed in the U.S. and utilized by government entities, utilities and other bodies, Google plans to invest in improvements or new systems that would bring Internet bandwidth, which determines the speed of data transfer, up to 1 gigabit per second.

Currently, most homes in Madison receive their Internet from Charter Communications, which offers connections at speeds from 1 to 24 megabits per second — there are 1,024 megabits in a gigabit.

According to Paul Kronberger, Madison Director of Information Technology, this increase in bandwidth has the potential not only to improve current wait times on the Internet, but also to herald in a new era of applications of the Internet.

“There’s all kinds of commercial uses, medical uses, just plain residential uses — all types of things that would be possible,” Kronberger said.

Preexisting network is strong

Although Google has released little information about the criteria that will be given the most weight in selecting cities for the project, a look through the application shows many questions concerning the local infrastructure and economy of a potential city.

Kronberger said Madison already has a lot of fiber lines and conduits which carry public utility lines in place. Both are owned by a combination of government entities and private companies and covered in the request for information.

Kronberger said the city anticipates that if selected, Google will want to work with local companies to utilize these features already in place, adding Madison is at the forefront in modern network deployment.

While it is not rare to have fiber optic cables available, Preston Austin, owner of local business 3×5 Software Inc., said the city receives a huge boost from the cables’ current interconnectedness. He said education bodies, the state and some Internet service providers are used to connecting networks to produce faster performance, and Google is basically looking to produce a “supercharged” version of this.

He added that from maintaining these networks, trained professionals already exist with the skills to effectively implement the rollout of Google Fiber.

While Google’s application also takes into account regional factors such as weather and terrain, Kronberger said Madison’s long and cold winters should not negatively impact the city’s chances because local construction companies are very used to working around adverse weather.

Community goes ‘mad’ for Fiber

While Austin said Google most likely wants to quickly and effectively lay down the new technology with minimal costs and other hurdles, enthusiasm from a city’s residents will be huge in assigning weight to a leader’s statement in support of bringing Google Fiber to a community.

“If the mayor says the people of Madison are telling me they want this, then Google knows the city’s cooperation isn’t [competing] with a lot of political opposition, and that can be crucially important.” Austin said.

Austin is one of several locals behind Madfiber.net, a grassroots movement that sprang up to support the city’s official application. Hundreds have gotten involved in the site to express support for bringing Fiber to Madison via videos, messages, social media and other interactive features.

“Instead of one central city government-led effort, a whole bunch of people spontaneously stood up and in a sort of chaotic and democratic way, started making things happen,” Austin said.

Google invites applicants to submit measures such as YouTube videos and studies of public support in the application, along with a space for other useful things that would be good to know about a city. For Madison, this could mean including measures such as Babcock’s newly developed ice cream flavor themed around the technology.

Other opportunities

As promising as officials find Madison, the city will face an intense fight in the coming months to both fit Google’s criteria and stand out from other cities with similar infrastructure and economies in place. If it fails to receive favor, it may still benefit from the possibly wide-reaching effects of developments in other selected cities.

Google’s technology could also give the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan, which was announced last year with the intent to lay the groundwork for Internet speeds comparable to Fiber, a boost toward easier, earlier implementation.