Google Fiber Pilot Launches: Company Bets Big on High-Speed Internet
By Karla Robinson
August 27, 2012
August 27, 2012
- Google has rolled out its Google Fiber initiative that offers 1 gigabit of Internet speed to users for $70 a month. Its pilot run in Kansas City is expected to cost the search giant $500 million, but Google could stand to gain much more.
- “Google Fiber also offered the ability to record eight TV programs at a time. And to download a single high-def movie in seven seconds (versus 22 minutes for a 5mbps connection). And a free Nexus 7 tablet as a remote control. And a free terabyte of data storage on Google Drive,” explains Fortune. “And, on top of all this, no data caps.”
- Skeptics believe the project will not disrupt the control of the powerful ISPs, but Google hopes to challenge the current low speeds and high prices.
- “As video chat, streaming media and photo sharing have increased, people are finding their broadband isn’t broad enough anymore. The U.S. is 15th on Akamai’s list of the countries with fast broadband. Google Fiber offers faster speeds at lower prices than most ISP’s offer today,” the post states.
- “A week after the announcement, Google had signed up more than 7,000 homes in Kansas City, 4,900 in Missouri and 2,100 in Kansas. That’s about 5 percent of the cities’ total homes,” Fortune reports. “Residents are halfway through the six-week rally to get others in their designated ‘fiberhoods’ to sign up. As of this week, some neighborhoods have as much as 39 percent of their homes plugged in.”
- Google isn’t just making money on subscriptions. “…the surge in broadband content could bring Google new revenue from Web and TV advertising. And by becoming an ISP, Google could win a strong presence in many U.S. living rooms.”
- Even if Google doesn’t take over the ISPs’ control, “this initiative is less about a long-term revenue opportunity for Google and more about pushing current Internet providers to increase speeds and innovate (which could benefit Google in the long run),” says analyst Ben Schacter of Macquarie Securities.
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