Google Fiber Teases 34 More Cities With Actual, Honest-To-Goodness Broadband Competition
from the this-could-get-interesting dept
One of the interesting things about Google Fiber is that it isn't just people getting shiny new 1 Gbps connections for $70: it's a network data collection exercise, a marketing experiment, a testbed for new services and ads -- but first and foremost it's a massive public relations fire under the posteriors of the nation's all-too-comfortable, government-pampered, uncompetitive broadband ISPs. Google Fiber isn't really even available to all that many people (a few thousand, probably), yet its impact on the national discourse has been massive. Also impressive has been the sheer volume of free marketing Google gets for the service as cities -- dissatisfied with existing broadband ISPs -- climb on top of and over one another to be first in line to be next in line.Google's first call for a potential city (before they picked Kansas City) resulted in an unprecedented nationwide media frenzy. Four years later with just two (Kansas City and Provo, barely) markets launched and a third planned (Austin), its pretty clear that Google Fiber won't be coming to most of us anytime soon. Still, Google recently cleverly teased some 34 cities in 9 metro areas with the faint possibility they could be next in line. From a Google blog post:
"We aim to provide updates by the end of the year about which cities will be getting Google Fiber. Between now and then, we’ll work closely with each city’s leaders on a joint planning process that will not only map out a Google Fiber network in detail, but also assess what unique local challenges we might face....While we do want to bring Fiber to every one of these cities, it might not work out for everyone. But cities who go through this process with us will be more prepared for us or any provider who wants to build a fiber network. In fact, we want to give everyone a boost in their thinking about how to bring fiber to their communities; we plan to share what we learn in these 34 cities..."In short, Google's again creating free media coverage for themselves while drawing attention to the ignored competitive problems in the country's broadband market. Cities that won't get Google Fiber (and I'd bet only one or two of the 34 actually will) will at least benefit from the experiences Google and other cities have learned as they attempt to navigate installation pitfalls and disrupt the status quo.
Google Fiber's selection of these 34 cities also indicates they want to start a broader conversation about the bills ISPs have gotten passed in a number of states that hamstring town and city efforts to wire themselves with broadband -- even if nobody else will. The Carolinas in particular have been a real hotbed of protectionist legislation crafted by the likes of Time Warner Cable, AT&T and CenturyLink, and by focusing on the Raleigh-Durham area and Charlotte, Google pretty clearly wants to bring the focus on these awful bills into the foreground.
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Filed Under: broadband, competition, fiber, isp
Companies: google
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Re:
If the telco monopolies were being run with even the slightest shred of competence, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Google Fiber would be a feeble attempt at branching out; a sideshow at best. Instead, it's practically being hailed as the eighth wonder of the world, and the telcos are struggling to catch up and save face. Pitiful.
Here's hoping the new blood knows (and more importantly, remembers) not to let things deteriorate to this point.
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While it may have been a good deal at the time to get cable laid in those cities, it has since become a garrote preventing them from inviting in other competition that would bring cheaper as well as better services.
Just as the entertainment companies have to be dragged kicking and screaming all the way into more modern technologies, so to do the communications industries have to be dragged out of their monopolies into actual competition.
At present, the US pays the highest rates for the poorest speeds in broadband. Something has to change. The US is steadily loosing it's standing in education and business opportunities as corporations and businesses go elsewhere in the world for better choices and economics for broadband communications.
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Maybe a year ago. Must be more than that now.
"Cities that won't get Google Fiber (and I'd bet only one or two of the 34 actually will)..."
One _metro area_, possibly (and with the pressure this announcement put on public officials in these metro areas, I'm almost certain it will be more than that), or one *city*?
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Re: Metro Area
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Re:
You're going to be waiting a long time then, you can bet the telcos have already been pressuring their unofficial 'employees' in the house and senate against Google getting the same incentives, likely with the excuse that it would be 'unfair', 'a large expense that would be better spent elsewhere', and 'disruptive to the market'(and by extension them and the kickbacks/perks they're paying out).
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Competition?
The $300 one time for 5M installation tells you the real truth: They are buying market share, they are buying the pipe that connects you to the internet, and they aren't concerned with making income from the project as an ISP. They are only considering what they can make with more Google searches and more google ads. It's a form of dumping, and likely to get them some nice federal intervention soon enough.
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Re: Competition?
And the fact that the current cable companies in the areas that have Google fibre are already increasing their speeds to match Google just shows that the true reason low speeds is not the cost.
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Re: Competition?
As part of the process for getting fiber the cities must respond to a "checklist" of items including:
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Re: Competition?
Does google fiber lock you into using google's products online somehow? No? So you're just bullshitting? I guess so.
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Re: Re: Competition?
Does google fiber lock you into using google's products online somehow?
I'm not sure you know what dumping is, because it has nothing to do with locking customers in to other products.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumping_%28pricing_policy%29
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Re: Competition?
So tell me - the cableco charges you $100/mo. Do you honestly think it costs them anywhere near that much? Do you think that Google is making that much from banner ads?
This has less to do with "the real costs of being an ISP", and more with "the real cost *to the consumer* of having a single broadband produce."
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Wouldn't need competition if ...
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Re: Wouldn't need competition if ...
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FYI: confirmation of Google Fiber
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So for most ppl who cares, it wont help (the reality - if the telco's and cable companies are only challenged in certain areas, yea they wheel and deal there, but for everywhere they are not challenged they will just jack up the price and lower the service bar to make up for where they had to step up).
So the final line is thanks Google for fucking everyone else but the chosen few...
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Re:
How did Google fuck anyone? It's not like they can instantly fiber-up the entire nation. And it's not like GF going in to some other city makes your service any worse.
Just be patient, and watch all the providers in Google Fiber cities shit their pants. Enjoy the show, and someday soon it will come to everyone.
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Re: Thanks, Google?
For you, a journey of a thousand miles starts with 999.999 miles of curses but no actual steps.
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Re: Re: Thanks, Google?
He's still taking the position that nobody should try to make the situation better unless they can improve everything all at once for the entire country. That sounds nigh impossible to me, so I would take this piecemeal approach over nothing, even if it doesn't benefit me immediately.
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Re: Re: Re: Thanks, Google?
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Marketing Ploy
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Verizon! LOL
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So many ISPs commenting here
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