HAMILTON — Local leaders are touting the county’s oft-controversial fiber optics network to convince Google to make the area a test market for a proposed broadband initiative.

Butler County, Hamilton and Middletown officials have joined countless communities across the country in applying to take part in Google’s experimental network by the deadline today, March 26.

The plan, announced in February, is “to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States,” according to the company’s blog. It states they’ll announce a winner later this year.

“We’ll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections,” according to the company. “We plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.”

It would be an open access network, meaning Google would allow multiple service providers to use it.

“We believe this project can create opportunities for our businesses, residents and schools,” said Middletown City Manager Judy Gilleland.

All three entities are looking to the county’s 125-mile fiber optic network — already capable of doing what Google proposes — to lure the company.

“We’re interested in using that as a selling point to get them to come into Butler County,” said county Information Technology Director Gregory Sullivan.

The fiber system has been associated with legal issues. A former county commissioner and the owner of the company that built the system are facing federal charges that they improperly benefited from the project. And another company’s proposal to use the fiber system ended with the county auditor and three company officials found guilty of bank fraud.

Not only would Google’s proposal be a boon to economic development, but it “should have an effect on keeping (broadband) prices down,” said Hamilton Deputy City Manager Rob Smith.

Plus, Sullivan said, the county has four campuses of a major university connected by the fiber system. This plays into what Google says it wants: to “experiment and learn,” and open the door to “next generation apps” and innovations that may not even be conceived of today.

Already supported by local government and business, Middletown officials are asking the public to openly support the project by nominating the city on Google’s Web site by the deadline today.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.