Google Inc. picked Kansas City, Kan., as its test city for a 1Gbps fiber network, an area near where SureWest currently delivers fiber-to-the-home service.

In order to test what super-high-speed connectivity could deliver, Google last year said it would build and operate a fiber-to-the-home network for some city with a population between 50,000 and 500,000.

Hundreds of cities applied to be the test market.

Google said Thursday it will start building the network and plans to offer service to Kansas City residents in early 2012. Google has not said what its pricing will be.

SureWest, the Roseville-based communications company, provides data service in the greater Kansas City area.

“We do not yet know all of the details of where Google plans to serve in the greater Kansas City region, but do know that the areas they’ve publicly announced such as Wyandotte County are not areas we currently serve, nor do we have plans to,” said Surewest in a statement. “In many ways, this announcement is an exciting one for SureWest because it strengthens and validates that our strategy of operating as a fiber-to-the-home over-builder is the best way to go. With our expertise and experience in building fiber-to-the-home networks over the last 10 years, we are also open to partnering with Google if opportunities present themselves.”