A community-wide data fiber network may be closer than ever.

Vision 2020’s Community Wide Technology committee released the results of a feasibility study Friday that shows a high-speed fiber network throughout the city of Austin is not only possible but sustaining. That high-speed data network could provide Internet speeds of up to 1 Gig per second, or hundreds of times faster than normal Internet speeds.

The project, dubbed Gig Austin, could cost about $35 million to build. The committee also hopes to use state and federal grants, and funding from other partners and nonprofits, to pay for the project. Committee members say they aren’t considering local tax dollars at this time.

The results of the study, done by CCG Consulting, show Gig Austin is doable but requires about 40 to 50 percent of residents to sign up for the service. In addition, the project could be overseen by a private business, public entity or a co-op of some sort, but committee members say it’s too soon to figure out who would own and operate the network.

The next step, according to Vision 2020’s Director of Vision Creation Laura Helle, is a survey to find how many Austin residents would pay for the higher Internet service, which she said is proposed as comparable in price to area Internet providers. That survey will be done in August.

Look to the Sunday edition of the Austin Daily Herald for more on Gig Austin.