Bixby will be the first city in Oklahoma to have gigabit Internet connection speeds for residents.
While Google Fiber brought ultra-fast Internet to Provo, Kansas City and Austin, BTC Broadband is offering it to dozens of communities in Bixby, South Tulsa and Jenks. President Scott Floyd said the company has laid cables in practically every development built in the last 10 years.
"Most [residents] in this footprint that have purchased a home that was built during that time will have that fiber-optic technology to their house," Floyd said.
About 4,600 homes are covered now, and 14 planned developments will have the necessary infrastructure when they’re built.
Bixby Mayor John Easton said the city hasn’t offered the company incentives.
"This is something that BTC Broadband has been working on for years, and this is pretty much their show. This is their thing," Easton said. "We've not been asked for any contributions. This is their investment."
A gigabit is nearly 1,000 times faster than connections 10 years ago. A two-hour HD movie will download in about 32 seconds over a gigabit connection. Floyd said tech-heavy companies could be attracted by that fast of Internet.
"They want their engineers that they've hired — or their doctors or their technicians that are looking at medical transcription–type devices — to be able to download and be able to operate from their own home," Floyd said.
The Federal Communications Commission issued a gigabit city challenge nearly two years ago, calling for at least one such community in each state by 2015.
