I just saw the annoucement. 1 Gigabit per second internet connection for less than I’m paying for Fios now, and the option for free interenet at current speeds. It’s only available in Kansas City right now, but I definitely think this is something to get excited about.
it looks pretty awesome did google have to put up a lot of money to build the infrastructure?
I’ll be a customer in a heartbeat if and when they launch this in NY
They don’t really reveal much on how they can generate speeds this fast when current cable companies can’t.
I don’t know for sure. It looks like Google has been working on this for a while now. I think a lot of the fiber optic infastrucutre already existed, but Google has to set up their systems to service the information flow from all the users.
Interesting… you would think this would have been offered first in the Bay Area… not that I am biased or anything. Sounds amazing.
Well, the name explains it right? Google is building fiber optic cables into Kansas City houses. Cable companies use normal cables, which are much slower. Google is probably going to take a big loss on this project - it’s really more of a jump start/experimental thing. Once this sort of thing becomes economically viable, I’m sure cable companies will become more interested.
They did offer it in the Bay Area first! Kansas City is #2. It’s just that no one knows about these programs due to the very small scale.
Apparently there were a few different cities trying to be the test subject for this. I would imagine that they picked a smaller place on purpose so 1) they would be able to better manage their client base and 2) so if the whole thing blows up the event is a little more isolated.
In reference to number 2, when I lived in Indiana as kid the McDonalds there would test out all of there new items. If bombed chances are no one else ever heard about it. Obviously a little different with an internet company like Google, but still applicable.
I’m assuming they don’t have to reserve bandwidth for 1,005 cable channels, many of which are now HD and 3D. This is an internet only service, right?
Verizon Fios is fiber to the house, but is coaxial inside the house. I assume this is fiber directly to the modem.
EDIT: Nevermind, took a closer look at the site and it is TV and internet. Not sure why Verizon Fios wouldn’t be able to match the speed.
Ah yes. I’ll be able to travel the Internet 100x faster than you all!
And greyhound86, the Kansas City metro area is actually huge. Originally Google was just going to lay fiber in Kansas City, KS. When they realized that only criminals live in KCK they expanded it to the whole metro area.
I’ll be sure to let you all know how much better my…movie…watching experience is.
Sweep, I was worried my statement about Kansas City might be a bit off, but it does look like it’s about half the size of San Fran and significantly less than the New York metro area. It sounds like KC will be a great test city though. I really hope it works well and they start rolling it our all over.
Why is Google after bandwidth?
They tried to bid for wireless bandwidth a while back but were rebuffed by Telcos. So now they are trying wireline. Maybe they could buy a lot of dark fiber left over from the dotcom boom.
If they succeed, they will control the hardware (tablet), the OS (Android), the browser (Chrome), the portal (Google search) and the conduit (fiber). All that will be left independently standing will be the servers (but wait till they offer Amazon-like cloud hosting) and content, which muppets will churn out for free.
Keep in mind and Google, Facebook, Wordpress, LinkedIn, YouTube etc will have zero valuation were it not for user-generated content. Their whig is enormous - users who make them popular, get paid nothing. Great business model.
Do no evil my ass.
Keep in mind Walmart, Apple, Exxon, etc will have zero valuation were it not for people buying their product. It is ridiculous, people who buy their crap get paid nothing. Great business model
I don’t think this is a good idea for them. They’re moving outside their realm of focus and if successful will be strapped with having to staff a major maintainance team along with large amounts of capital and cable company like profit margins. Just makes no sense to me, I don’t see the synergies.
Eh? Apple and Exxon make their own products. Walmart analogy might fit, but even they have to pay their suppliers. The Internet portals pay their suppliers nothing.
Nope. The Kansas City metro area includes both KCK and KCMO, not to mention numerous suburbs. The metro area is 7,952 sq mi. San Fran is 3,524 and NY is only 468 sq miles. Small compared to Anchorage though…over 26,000 square miles.
At any rate, Google is laying some serious pipe, or fiber. And, they’re not hooking up the whole city by the launch date. They’re going to do all of KCK and the core of KCMO, then it’ll be by neighborhood demand. Neighborhoods will need 10% of households to commit before Google will connect them.
That is true, but the users also get the services for free. The same could be said for Analyst Forum, and I think most of us are glad it’s here and agree that it’s useful… even if Chad doesn’t pay us for all the valuable information we provide on HCBs.
Also, Google is an advertising company. I wouldn’t call what they do “user generated” in the least.
I guess they want to be the GE of the 21st century.
Depending on how you define it, Google does depend on “user generated” content. 95% of their revenue comes from Search. Without “user generated” websites, Search is useless. So, the growth of the internet is crucial to Google’s business.
Of course, this does not mean that Google is “evil”. They provide a great service, and it’s free. Arguably, even the ads are a service to users. I want to see advertisements for products that might interest me based on Google’s information.
As for why Google is buying up bandwidth… who knows. They say they want to keep the internet “free”, but there might be an ulterior motive. If you ask me though, they are just sitting on a big pile of cash, so when someone asks “why”, they just say “why not? Muaa ha ha haa”.