Yes indeed! Welcome to Google’s very first Fiberhood! Google launched its fiber-to-home network in Kansas City (covering both Kansas & Missouri) where 180 neighbourhoods have qualified to be the very first fiberhoods. Using optical fiber cables, Google is able to transmit data at a speed of one Gigabit per second (Gbps)- that’s almost 20 – 100 times faster than the internet speeds offered by current Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the rest of the US! The revolutionary service was first announced at end of July 2012 and after a single week on the open market, Kansas City was chosen to premier the product. Promoting features such as the ability to record up to eight TV shows simultaneously, store up to 500 hours of high-definition programming, and voice-activated remote control using smartphones or tablets, analysts estimated that Google signed up almost 7000 of a potential 165,000 households in the first week alone. And who could resist? For $120/month – Google offers: up to one Gbps broadband speeds, Fiber TV and one terabyte of Google Drive Cloud Storage. Additionally, a broadband only package with one terabyte of data storage was also available for $70. Their closest competitor, Time Warner, offers their fastest (50Mbps) internet only service for $99.95 and their combined TV and home phone service package sells in excess of $200! Now the question remains, why Kansas City?
Even though Kansas and Missouri offer comparatively smaller markets, the search engine giant chose the Midwestern cities to pioneer their service because of the numerous subsidies and regulatory concessions offered. This includes free power, free office space, free marketing, expedited permits and inspections, free right-of-way easements (which means Google can build anywhere in the city without having to answer for noise or increased traffic) and finally the right to approve or reject any public statements made regarding Google Fiber. It’s noteworthy to mention that Kansas has never offered such incentives to any other ISP. Moreover, Google is exempt from open access regulations thereby preventing competitors to lease the fiber network to offer competing services. However, this could be a dangerous precedent. With such incentives, Google could easily monopolize the industry which would harm customers in the long run.
Other disadvantages include costly installation fees. Google charges $300 installation fee which, while waived for the early adopters, could prove onerous down the line. In addition, the lightning fast speed could become a nuisance when communicating with someone having a lower speed ISP. Finally, there is the issue of privacy. The data magnet already is capable of tracking the websites we frequent and the purchases we make. Now, they would be able to gather TV and movie consumption data as well. While some consider it a small price to pay for improving the quality of service, more often than not people see it as an unnecessary intrusion.
However, overall, Google Fiber is a game changer. Having raised the bar for competing ISPs, Google has ushered in the future of communication systems.
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