An Ohio startup named Gigabit Squared, in conjunction with Gig U (a consortium of 30 research universities across the country) this week announced that they've launched a new program dedicated to bringing gigabit broadband speeds to six communities across the country. Through a new initiative dubbed The Gigabit Neighborhood Gateway Program, the groups have secured $200 Million in funding to help improve the connected fortunes of six U.S. communities.

Those six communities are likely be university areas, as both Michigan State and the University of Maine have already been building such networks with the help fo Gig U.

"What makes the Gigabit Squared approach so exciting is that it goes far beyond normal industry business models in how to successfully and creatively improve broadband access speeds for university communities, which is exactly the premise upon which Gig.U was founded," said Blair Levin, Executive Director of Gig.U. "We intuitively knew this, but to see Gigabit Squared emerge so strongly today proves that yes, America needs an upgrade; and that yes, there are innovators and investors willing to step up to get it done."

Levin was the man behind the U.S. broadband plan, which we've criticized for years as being a show-pony-half-effort that utterly failed to address the nation's biggest broadband problem: a lack of serious competition. Levin's focus since has been to use stimulus funding to help improve university areas. In Maine, for example, stimulus funding and help from the University of Maine and Great Works Internet is helping to bring 1 Gbps connectivity to a market where the private sector has largely failed -- consisting primarily of economically-shaky Fairpoint Communications.

What if you're in a market that has no competition and no university to act as a connectivity launching pad? Good question.