(Springfield, Mo.) -- City officials are announcing a campaign to bring Google to Springfield, Mo.The internet company is seeking test sites for new technology, and Springfield is hoping to be one of those sites.

"We plan to provide fiber-to the home service with speeds up to 1 gigabit per second for at least 50k and potentially up to 500k people," says Infrastructure Manager James Kelly on a announcing the program.

That announcement sent communities across the nation scrambling... hoping to be a test site for the new service.

"When you think about what you can do with that kind of access, you can really do a lot of things. It's kind of like the difference between drinking through a straw and drinking through a fire hose," says Jeff Coiner, Director of Information Services for the City of Springfield.

"You could run 25, 30 computers, all viewing full HD video at the same time, several laptops, wireless devices, and never see a hiccup," says Shawn Michael Kirkbride, local technology blogger and writer for Examiner.com

Kirkbride is helping spread the word, because community support is key. But, Google also wants to know how the infrastructure will be put to use.

"They want to find out what communities will do with high speed, this ultra-high speed broadband," says Coiner.

Now, Mediacom offers the only high-speed internet in Springfield.

"We have our own fiber network. It's very robust," says Mediacom spokeswoman Phyllis Peters.

Recently, Mediacom introduced a faster broadband service at 50 megabits per second, but that's still 20-times slower than what Google promises.

Mediacom says the benefit is it's here now, and won't require construction.

"The kind of technology technology that provides our 'Ultra 50' service in Springfield can be cranked up to 105, 150, 200. It's very future-proof and, again, it's there now with faster, more secure connections," says Peters.

Kirkbride says construction is a small inconvenience for a big benefit.

"This is a big push, this is a major thing," says Kirkbride.

Monday night, Springfield City Council takes up a resolution, showing its support of the project.

Cities have until March 26th to apply

dmagditch@kspr.com