Google Inc. (GOOG) Fiber Project Puts K.C. in Spotlight

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has gathered some headlines with its plan to develop a gigabyte fiber network in Kansas City (both Kansas and Missouri) – developing the concept that Internet speeds can be faster than they are in the U.S. now. The company says its new Fiber network would be as much as 100 times faster than any current broadband available in the marketplace.

Even before the new concept is officially rolled out in the numerous “Fiberhoods” in the Kansas City area, just the idea of Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG0 being involved has generated a lot of buzz in and about Kansas City, and several in the communities are seeing this as an opportunity – perhaps even an opportunity for the two antagonistic cities to come together and actually get along, as one observer put it.

While there are potential cable TV competitors who have dismissed the idea of Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) expanding the Fiber network otuside of Kansas City – citing the expense of such a rollout – that doesn’t seem to affect Disney and Turner, who run several cable channels. Recently, the two companies have agreed to add many of their cable properties to Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Fibert TV package, which would dramatically expand the offerings available as this project rolls out in the coming months. Some popular cable channels like TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, CNN, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ABC Family, Disney Channel and Longhorn Network are among those being addded to Google’s Fiber TV offerings.

While the rollout in Kansas City will be staggered over the coming months, it would appear that this new agreement with Disney and Turner would have to bode well for the prospects of this new Fiber experiment, and the acceptance of super-high-speed Internet service to residential and eventually commercial customers will be a huge investment with potentially huge gains for investors in Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock, like hedge-fund manager Chase Coleman of Tiger Global Management LLC.