Five DeKalb County cities have teamed up to convince Google to test its new ultra-high speed broadband in their communities.

Google plans to test its serve for at least 50,000 and up to 500,000 people. To meet the population threshold, the cities of Avondale Estates, Chamblee, Decatur, Doraville and Dunwoody joined forces to create the Atlanta Urban Area Partnership.

The local cities are competing against larger cities such as Austin, Pittsburgh and Seattle. To help promote DeKalb and join the discussion on how the service could help communities here, residents are asked to join a Facebook page for the Partnership.

Local officials also are working to enlist more communities and organizations. For information on how your community can support the proposal, visit the Facebook page or send an e-mail to Catherine.lee@decaturga.com.

About the Author

Featured

Inventor Lonnie Johnson stands with his Super Soaker water guns at JTEC Energy on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. Johnson, a former NASA engineer, is currently working on a new energy technology through his company’s JTEC device that turns thermal heat into usable energy. (Natrice Miller/AJC)