Champaign and Urbana residents can compete for expanded broadband service

City officials in Champaign and Urbana (IL) want residents and businesses to vote with their checkbooks to bring expanded broadband service to the area.

They announced that a competition has opened pitting Champaign-Urbana against 36 other research university communities to bring in low-cost, high-speed Internet infrastructure. Six cities will be chosen as locations where private supplier Gigabit Squared will invest in fiber optic hookups directly to homes and businesses. Officials say it's a step that would enhance Champaign-Urbana's burgeoning Big Broadband initiative, for which a $22.5 million federal grant is helping to hook up residents in underserved areas and community institutions like schools, churches and city facilities with high-speed Internet. "There's just one problem," said Urbana Alderman Brandon Bowersox-Johnson. "It only connects about 10 percent of the community."