However, the project also will cost taxpayers of the sister cities in Missouri and Kansas along with those in surrounding counties significant monies -- possibly millions of dollars -- to give Google free access to power, rights of way and even office space.

Such taxpayer costs have prompted some critics to question whether any major broadband project in the nation can move ahead without local government and taxpayer support -- or, as some say, "deregulation."

"We should acknowledge the possibility that it simply doesn't make economic sense for private firms to build new fiber networks without taxpayer subsidies," commentor on the Ars Technica tech news website on Friday.

Google has signed deals with various governments agencies that some observers say are valued in the millions of dollars.

"I'd assume the taxpayer cost [for the Google project] is in the millions," said Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates.