CHICAGO (CBS) — Gov. Pat Quinn has awarded $2 million to an Ohio company, which is the first winner of the state’s “Gigabit Communities Challenge.”

It’ll be installing infrastructure to bring internet like you’ve never seen it.

The idea is to bring ultra-fast internet–100-times faster than what we have now–to communities across the state.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser Reports

Gigabit Squared will install fiber optic and wireless in several communities on Chicago’s South Side, including Hyde Park, Woodlawn and Kenwood.

The University of Chicago is putting in another $2 million and the company is putting in $5 million.

The faster internet connections will be available to residents, businesses and institutions.

Gigabit Squared President Mark Ansboury says the applications are limitless.

A surgeon at U. of C., he says, could consult on a surgery from home and instantly see an MRI, which requires serious bandwidth.

And, he says, 100-times faster isn’t a limit.

He says the idea is to create “future-proof” networks that can grow in ways we don’t even know about yet.

Quinn noted Johnny Appleseed planted his seeds in the state more than 100 years ago, and he’d like to see the “Gigabit Challenge” be the seeds that bring the state into the future in terms of ultra-high-speed broadband.