Google Ready to Start Laying Fiber in KC

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - After months of delay, public disagreements about the use of utility poles, and speculation that Google couldn't complete its project without buying SureWest, which owns a nearby FTTH network (SureWest was just bought by Consolidated Communications), the long-awaited Kansas City fiber network is about to get under way. Google announced that its engineering and barbecue-eating days were over and it was getting down to the serious business of building thousands of miles of fiber backbone throughout Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo.

No vendors for the project have yet been announced, but project manager Kevin Lo promises "more important updates and announcements" soon.