Googles Fiber in Kansas City wasnt even the first in America. Chattanooga, Tennessee had the first gigabit network in the country http://chattanoogagig.com/
sonic.net has had a couple of trial locations in CA; Sebastopol is the location I recall. I don't know about the relative timing of their offer.
I believe they were also the/a possible partner when Google was considering 1 Gbps in one or another location in the South Bay. Maybe someone else knows/recalls more about this.
I'm not in the position, myself, but in my opinion, if you are in Northern CA and sonic.net is an option, they deserve your business -- or consideration, at least.
