Google Fiber Expanding Faster, Further -- And Making Comcast Very Nervous
from the blow-up-the-status-quo dept
While Google Fiber was originally seen as an adorable little experiment primarily designed to bring PR attention to a lack of broadband competition, over the last six months Wall Street has woken up to the fact that Google Fiber isn't playing around. While the number of customers that can actually sign up for Google Fiber remains in the several hundred thousand range, Google's announcements to tackle sprawling areas like Atlanta, San Antonio, Chicago, and Los Angeles has many Wall Street analysts changing their tune.In 2012 or so, Wall Street analysts proclaimed it would just be too expensive to deploy Google Fiber at any scale. Fast forward to 2016, and you'll notice that a very different tune is being sung:
Although Google’s announcement is just that, could lead to nothing, and requires minimum capital commitment by Alphabet at this stage, it increases on the margin the likelihood that Google Fiber will pass a large number of locations within five years. Correspondingly, it increases the chances that we will see Alphabet’s capex in the non-core businesses, or what the company has referred to as “Other Bets,” increase significantly. Indeed, if Google Fiber were to build out in Chicago and/or Los Angeles and their surroundings, it could precipitate increased interest from other major metro areas, making it easier for Fiber to scale up. Our high end estimate of 20-25 million homes passed by Google Fiber may prove less aggressive than we thought.Google Fiber has learned some hard lessons in trying to build a broadband network from scratch, so it has started leaning more heavily on existing builds (or plans to build). This week for example Google Fiber announced in a blog post it would be riding on a planned open access municipal broadband network being built by the city of Huntsville, Alabama. This comes on the heels of the company's announcement it's also riding on existing apartment fiber builds in Atlanta to speed up availability there:
To date, we’ve built the majority of our Google Fiber networks from scratch. But over the past five years, we’ve repeatedly seen that every city is unique. So in order to bring Fiber to more people, we’ve taken different approaches in different places. In Provo, Utah, our Google Fiber service is being delivered over a network we purchased from the city. In Atlanta, Georgia, we’re both constructing our own network, and using existing fiber to provide Google Fiber to some apartment buildings. And now, due to the leadership of the Mayor and Huntsville Utilities CEO Jay Stowe, we’ll be working with a muni-owned network to bring our high speed service to Huntsville.There's every indication that Huntsville's network will be open to any other ISP competitors, an idea Google Fiber originally trumpeted then backed off from. So, yes, while Google Fiber still has a small footprint now as it labors to dig fiber trenches (Austin, Kansas City, Provo), the sheer number of builds in progress or close to finalization is starting to become mammoth (Louisville, Salt Lake City, Portland, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, San Jose, Charlotte, Nashville...). In other words, by 2020 or so things should start to look notably different:
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Filed Under: broadband, competition, expansion, google fiber
Companies: comcast, google
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A notable omission
'My bill this month is what?!'
[X] xfinity []Google Fiber
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Re: A notable omission
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Omissions
[X] xfinity [ ]Google Fiber
Caps that are incompatible with the speed?
[X] xfinity [ ]Google Fiber
Sneaky fees and overpriced services?
[X] xfinity [ ]Google Fiber
Generally obnoxious behavior against consumers?
[X] xfinity [ ]Google Fiber
Giant middle finger at the citizens by effectively buying laws that benefit themselves?
[X] xfinity [ ]Google Fiber
Litigious behavior when faced with competition?
[X] xfinity [ ]Google Fiber
Worst company in America for years?
[X] xfinity [ ]Google Fiber
I could go on.
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Re: Omissions
Meaningless usage caps?
[X] xfinity [ ]Google Fiber
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Free TV?
On the flyer in the fine print it says: "TV: On Demand selections subject to charge indicated at time of purchase."
So which one is it? And by capitalising the O and D in "On Demand" makes it sound like a name, so I am surprised there is no TM next to it!
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Re: Free TV?
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Re: Re: Free TV?
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Re: Free TV?
1) 9X more ((FREE TV shows) and (movies On Demand)). or
2) (9X more Free TV shows) and (movies on demand).
But in neither case is it:
9X more free (TV shows and movies on demand).
They want people to read it and believe it is the latter, but that is not the meaning.
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And on the subject of voice-controlled remotes
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Re: And on the subject of voice-controlled remotes
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Re: Re: And on the subject of voice-controlled remotes
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Re: And on the subject of voice-controlled remotes
Yeah fuck those disabled people. They should not be allowed to watch TV without help.
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Are Alphabet going to buy FiOS from Verizon?
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Re: Are Alphabet going to buy FiOS from Verizon?
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This article is clearly written by a Google sympathizer. We said it's the fastest in-home Wi-Fi. As a forward-thinking company we realize that once this whole "cloud" fad dies down people are going to want to be able to transfer files and stream videos over their home network and we provide the best Wi-Fi for that purpose. After all, once we start cracking down on data usage the in-home network segment will be far more important than your Internet connection if you want to maximize the Comcastic Value (TM) of your services!
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Re:
What a joke comcast is.
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Re: Re:
No different than putting in the fastest processor possible into a computer but then purposely only putting in a few megs of ram. Sure you can crunch numbers fast but good luck on the retrieving of new info from the hard drive.
What a joke comcast is.
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Something Old, Something New
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Don't fall for the hype, indeed
But it's the "fastest Wifi" that made me laugh the loudest.
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Re: Don't fall for the hype, indeed
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Re: Don't fall for the hype, indeed
I say this as someone who recently needed to update their home network with a modern wireless AP, and turn off the ancient, crappy wireless on the ISP provided router.
Still, it's fairly ridiculous as a selling point seeing as it's fairly trivial to upgrade the wifi, and you very rapidly hit speeds where further speed on the wifi is irrelevant given the poor speed of the internet connection.
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Re: Don't fall for the hype, indeed
It made you laugh, it made me ask when the FTC is going to get their act together and sue Comcast for deceptive advertising.
I doubt it will actually happen though, they've been able to get away with their claims of "Up To" speeds so far.
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Fiber is good for your health
Here's hoping that Google will eventually cover the majority of the population and (finally) bring true competition to wired internet access.
As an aside, I wonder how long it will take for Google to get into the wireless access arena?
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Re: Fiber is good for your health
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Re: Re: Fiber is good for your health
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Re: Fiber is good for your health
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Re:
I can imagine the CEO's talking to God on the big white telephone right now & not knowing which end to point towards the bowl!
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Comcast is especially known for it's lack of care in the customer service department. It has earned much of the disdain that its customers have reserved for it. Every thing from troubles in terminating service to extra charges in the bill.
Comcast is scared be it is going to reap what it has sown.
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At Google's current pace
They'll have 400,000 (OMG) customers by 2032!
Let's not ignore that there are people still using dial-up, comcast, Centurylink, small ISPs, nor that 5G wireless is coming, and that Comcast is planning 2 Gbps service in select markets.
Google will not enter a market where it will lose money, and there are zero guarantees that just because they offer a service, people will eat it up.
What am I positive about? Increased competition. What do I find ridiculous? Google's growth in markets is piddly so far, and over a long time, very unimpressive. And the press eating it up is just silly.
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Re: At Google's current pace
Let me guess which markets...
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Re: Re: At Google's current pace
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SlingBox
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All of the stuff they sent out is true because they technically are the only ISP for those customers who received them.
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Why do cable companies screw existing customers? Because they can
I asked how long my "old" modem had been obsolete and was told 14 months. At NO time while paying more than double the current rate was I ever informed that I could receive increased performance and lower cost by upgrading my existing hardware.
If I had any other option for high speed internet, I would have switched that as well, but the only options are cable, DSL (which is 20 times slower than cable), or wireless (which is 5 times more expensive than cable).
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I will give you money every month if you come to my town.
please....
please......
please....
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Re: please come to Fl
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XFinity vs. Google Fiber.
9x more FREE TV shows - that I'll never watch.
DVR recordings to go - that I won't watch.
X1 voice remote - I can already do all that with my Xbox One. I mean, I don't, but I could.
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Comcast Gouging
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Re: Comcast Gouging
Might not be so good for Comcast.
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Re: Comcast Gouging
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Yeah, I'm sure Google Fiber will go FARTHER and FARTHER (distance-wise, that is) as they encroach further into Comcast's business model. Competition--ain't it a bitch.
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Try the New Google Cell Phone Service
UNBELIEVEABLE. I was paying $180 for AT&T and the thanks I got was a rate increase and a demand for $35 a month for a new phone.
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[X] xfinity [X] Google Fiber
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even if google is half the speed and twice the price, i'll still go with google
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