Move Over Google, San Leandro is Writing the Next Chapter of the Internet

City of San Leandro Press Release:

As Google attempts to grab the headlines with its announcement tomorrow of a fiber initiative for Kansas City that will offer users connection speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, Mayor Stephen Cassidy of San Leandro announced that San Leandro is staking its claim as the fastest city in the nation.

San Leandro’s fiber loop, known as Lit San Leandro, became operational earlier this year, offering connection speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second. This is 2,000 times faster than the average U.S. connection and ten times faster than the Google fiber network planned for Kansas City.

Moreover, the network will soon support ramping up the connectivity to 100 gigabits per second for businesses needing an even greater connection.

“The next chapter of the internet is being written today in San Leandro. No city in the nation has a network faster than Lit San Leandro,” stated Mayor Cassidy. “San Leandro is wired to be the place for business in the 21st Century.”

“With 10 gigabits direct to businesses, San Leandro is like a cheetah, with lasers! We're now the Usain Bolt of the tech world," added San Leandro City Manager Chris Zapata.

Lit San Leandro is the result of a unique public-private partnership combining the City of San Leandro's infrastructure and private investment to install the fiber.

In addition to attracting business, the project is benefitting the residents through initiatives such as the planned implementation of extreme high-speed connections at the City’s Main Library. The 288-strand, 11-mile fiber optic loop is already in operation in San Leandro with plans in place to expand to nearly 20 miles around the city which is centrally located in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lit San Leandro is the brainchild of Dr. Patrick Kennedy, CEO of San Leandro-based OSIsoft, who is privately funding the installation of the fiber in existing underground conduit owned by the City. Lit San Leandro and Dr. Kennedy were recently featured in an article in the Wall Street Journal.

"San Leandro is an unmatched opportunity and we intend to create the environment for it to be the next high tech nexus," stated Dr. Kennedy.

“The San Francisco Bay Area is the epicenter for new ideas, processes, and technologies that are transforming how we communicate, exchange information, supply services, and manufacture products,” added Mayor Cassidy. “San Leandro understands that high-speed Internet connections are as essential to economic success as water, highways, airports, and seaports.”

City staff studied the successful fiber loop models in Palo Alto and Santa Clara, which have led to an unprecedented boom in tech giants building and expanding in their communities. However, commercial real estate in Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and elsewhere in Silicon Valley has become prohibitively expensive for many tech-hungry entrepreneurs.

“With an incredibly central location, access to all forms of transportation, and now virtually unlimited bandwidth, San Leandro is the next opportunity for both established tech businesses and start ups. Every business in every sector can be more productive and successful with world-class speed,” stated City Manager Zapata. Strategically placed between Stanford University and

U.C. Berkeley, San Leandro is leveraging these connections with broadband to benefit businesses, education, and continue to fuel the Bay Area's tech engine.

About Dynamic San Leandro San Leandro is the sound of opportunity knocking. Having one of the most diverse populations in California, the city of nearly 85,000 residents is poised for growth with the fastest broadband in the nation thanks to the Lit San Leandro.

With access to two international airports, BART, two highways, the Port of Oakland, Silicon Valley less than a 40 minute drive away, the highly- skilled Bay Area workforce, and a business-friendly approach by City staff, San Leandro is an ideal location for both established tech businesses and start ups to be more productive and successful.

San Leandro features miles of shoreline and award-winning restaurants and coffee shops. The city is ready and able to meet the needs of the businesses today and in the future.

Learn move by watching the San Leandro "Get Connected!" video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SnQI7cQ0UY.