Google wants to get into the business of providing a better, faster internet, not just searching it.
We all want the internet to be faster. Waiting for a video to load before you can watch it just sucks. Broadband services like DSL or cable were a big step up from dialup, but Google thinks it’s ridiculous the technology hasn’t had a significant update in 16 years. Google unveiled a new service called Google Fiber which promises internet speeds up to 1 gig per second. The pilot program for Google Fiber is in Kansas City, Missouri, and customers will be able to pay $70 a month for internet, or $120 for internet plus TV channels and DVR capability. The TV service includes a Nexus 7 tablet computer which will act as your remote control.
“The next phase of the Internet, the next chapter of the Internet is written here today,” said Patrick Pichette, the CFO of Google, at a rally in Kansas City announcing the plan for Google Fiber. “We believe the Internet should give these high speeds to everyone in the U.S.”
Google offered several examples to show just how fast the service will be. One gigabit per second means you can download a full length HD movie in a matter of minutes. Milo Medin, Google executive in charge of this stuff, explained that if two cars left Kansas City for New York at the same time, the one traveling 100 times faster would reach New York before the other car even left Missouri.
Now before you Kansas Citians [Kansasites?] start throwing your cash at Google for the ultra-fast ‘nets, there’s a catch: not everyone will be able to get this service right away. Google split the city into “fiberhoods” and a critical mass of your neighbors (40-80 homes) will have to pay a $10 deposit for Google to string the fiber optic cable to your location. The ‘hoods with the most deposits in the next six weeks will get access to the service first, and Google hopes neighbors will band together to convince each other to pay.
Google chose Kansas City from a list of 1,100 cities because of the enthusiasm the people living there showed for faster internet and the internet company certainly seems willing to use that ebullience to push its agenda forward. Just look at that video embedded above. Whether the super-fast internet service becomes profitable enough in Kansas City to warrant installation in other cities, Google hopes Google Fiber will put pressure on Washington and other ISPs to consider upgrading our infrastructure.
Note to Google: Durham, NC could use some fiber love.
Source: NY Times
Published: Jul 26, 2012 08:55 pm