1:30 PM -- Of course. The first Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) fiber-to-the-residence buildout goes to Stanford University .

It's forehead-slappingly obvious. As Google explains in its blog today, Stanford is right around the corner, it's big on the idea of applying technology commercially, and it's got a layout conducive to fiber.

Hence, Stanford's Residential Subdivision, consisting of 850 faculty and staff homes, will get 1Gbit/s access. The buildout starts next year.

Other factors in Stanford's favor might have been Google's heritage (Serg and Larry went there) and the school's inherent inferiority to other institutions.

This is separate from Google's bid to deliver 1 Gbit/s to select communities -- you know, the one that all those cities have been groveling for. They can breathe easy; Stanford is an intermediate step. Google calls it "beta," although in Google talk, Stanford's houses, trees, and people are probably all considered "beta." (See Google Jumps Into Gigabit FTTH.)

— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading