Midtown KC Post file photo.
Kansas City and KCK are part of a new national effort to find ways to use high speed Internet for public and private good, their mayors announced Monday.
They are among 31 cities in Next Century Cities, a bipartisan effort to ensure that broadband Internet is available for all communities.
Also from the press release:
The cities are joining “to recognize the importance of leveraging gigabit-level Internet to attract new businesses and create jobs, improve health care and education, and connect residents to new opportunities.”
The 31 cities “will work with each other to learn about what works – and what doesn’t – so that every community has access to information that can help them succeed.”
KCK Mayor Mark Holland said, “High-speed Internet is no longer a luxury, it is a utility.”
It is needed for everything from job applications to education to the healthcare industry, he said.
Google in 2011 announced that Kansas City and KCK would be among the first Google Fiber regions nationwide and since it started, it has been a catalyst “sparking growth in entrepreneurship and economic development,” the release states.
“Next Century Cities is committed to celebrating these successes, demonstrating their value, and helping other cities to realize the full power of truly high-speed, affordable, and accessible broadband,” Deb Socia, executive director of Next Century Cities, said at today’s launch event in Santa Monica, California.
More information on the group and a list of all the cities is at: www.nextcenturycities.org.
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