It's the news that no ISP in the United States wanted to hear, but news that's coming nonetheless, and news that many currently-operating ISPs are going to have to brace for. Google (News - Alert) has put out the word to San Jose, as well as 33 other cities throughout the United States, to join Google in a conversation about bringing Google Fiber to said cities, fundamentally changing the landscape as we know it.

Reports suggest that Google is looking to build outward, talking to places like Atlanta, Nashville, Portland and Salt Lake City as well as neighboring towns in those regions. Of course, that doesn't mean Google Fiber will be coming to all 34 cities—some may not qualify, others may choose to not get involved at all—but word from Kevin Lo, Google Fiber's general manager, says the company “absolutely” wants all 34 in, if said 34 can get in.

Getting in, however, won't necessarily be easy. Google will be asking for plenty of information about the cities in question, including things like density of housing, points related to geology and topology, and the locations of currently-operating utility infrastructure like underground conduits and above-ground poles. Google isn't necessarily interested in building its own such infrastructure out, but rather plans to pay “market rates” for access to the rights to current infrastructure. Additionally, Google is concerned about permit speed, and is asking questions accordingly.

The 34 cities in question, according to reports, were selected as said cities had previously been seen as trying to improve the quality of Internet access in the area. Indeed, San Jose's mayor, Chuck Reed, recently noted that San Jose is home to more workers in the tech field than any other community in the Silicon Valley area. Reed also noted that “really fast Internet service” would be “great for our residents,” and that, generally, “the U.S...is far behind other parts of the world” in terms of high-speed Internet access.

There are those who question the overall value of Google's service, though, particularly to Google. Since Google's main stock in trade is online advertising, it's easy to wonder why the company would want to compete with entrenched rivals like Comcast or the like. But then, by like token, some might call this a move to take the entire channel; serving up online advertising on its own pipes makes a note of sense. There's also profit to be made in fiber provision; reports suggest that the company liked the levels of demand it saw in Kansas City, leading Kevin Lo to remark “Clearly, fiber can be a good business.” Indeed, reports from Bernstein Research's financial analyst Carlos Kirjner suggested that, despite Google shelling out roughly $94 million for the Kansas City network, the first year for the service would ultimately be profitable, and the profit was only likely to increase.

While Reed was correct that the U.S is often behind the rest of the world in high-speed Internet access, much of that has to do with issues of geography than anything else. But stepping up to better speeds is seldom bad news, especially given the growth of things like streaming media. What's more, having more competition in the field is great for consumers, especially those displeased with the efforts of companies, again, like Comcast (News - Alert), who haven't exactly been on consumers' good side of late. Only time will tell just how far Google goes with all this, but a new era may well be dawning on much of the U.S, an era of better Internet access for all.