Super-fast Google Fiber for Kansas City
July 27, 2012
(Credit: Google)
Google has announced Google Fiber, to be installed first in Kansas City.
Google Fiber is 100 times faster than today’s average broadband.
Imagine: instantaneous sharing; truly global education; medical appointments with 3D imaging; even new industries that we haven’t even dreamed of, powered by a gig.
Google has divided Kansas City into small communities called “fiberhoods.” To get service, each fiberhood needs a critical mass of their residents to pre-register. The fiberhoods with the highest pre-registration percentage will get Google Fiber first.
Households in Kansas City can pre-register for the next six weeks, and they can rally their neighbors to pre-register, too. Once the pre-registration period is over, residents of the qualified fiberhoods will be able to choose between three different packages (including TV).
While high speed technology exists, the average Internet speed in the U.S. is still only 5.8 megabits per second (Mbps) — slightly faster than the maximum speed available 16 years ago when residential broadband was first introduced.
“Access speeds have simply not kept pace with the phenomenal increases in computing power and storage capacity that’s spurred innovation over the last decade, and that’s a challenge we’re excited to work on,” says the Official Google Blog.
Comments (12)
by Lord Penguin
I looked up the major providers and their internet speeds, and none of them compare. Verizon FIOS has a maximum speed of 300mbps…at a price of over $200 per month. Their $75 plan gives only 20mbps. None of the other providers give large, more expensive plans like Verizon FIOS.
If Google offers internet that fast for that price, they’ll get huge numbers of customers, and the other companies will be forced to lower their prices and increase their speeds to compete. However, no matter how fast they make their speed, many will still not want to spend $70, so Google should offer a $25 or $30 plan for 100gbps (which is still much faster that average speed.
by Mostly Foobar
What’s with them starting in the frakking boondocks?
Shouldn’t Kansas City be focusing on getting hot and cold running water first?
Sheesh.
by KF
Well that’s just the point to see what they do w/it out there. So, if and when it comes to the big city, NY that is, it will truly be a beautiful day in the fiberhood!!!
by JZ
Hate all you want … While we fly around the internet at 20mbps, haha… Maybe Google didn’t feel like listening to a bunch of whiners all day, every day …
by kilgatron
Stupid comment.
by Bri
With these preregistration policies, and choosing Kansas city, I get the impression it’s going to be a long time till I see this on Long Island! It’s more like a tease!
by Ryan
Verizon has been trying to build a fiber network for years now. Look up Verizon FIOS, maybe it’s available in your area. It’s not available in mine and doubt it will be anytime soon, but maybe this Google thing will spur some more investment.
by CT
Everything’s up to date in Kansas City
They gone about as fer as they can go
by Skydog
Dear Gator,
Denigrating Apple because they are smart with their money is dumb.
Denigrate the polititions who tax companies so they are forced to go oversees.
If anyone had a backbone in Washington, they would LOWER corporate tax rates in the US (highest in the world) and let all the Apple’s of the world SPEND it here, for expansions, job creations, etc…
Don’t want to take sides here because I don’t think either side is capable…..
by Gorden Russell
Just let us know which fiberhood gets it first and I’ll move there.
by GatorALLin
…yeah, me too…. wish they would extend their fiberhood to FL next…. so if internet speeds are about the same as they were 16 years ago…and this is 100 faster, does this catch Kansas City back up with a graph like we would expect for More’s Law? That would be cool.
Lets hope that some big cool company like Apple would try and start doing this also….they could get in a race for bettering the world and we all win… With just the money that Apple hides overseas to avoid paying US taxes, they could make this happen easily… Come on Apple, be the good guys for once and do something like Google to better the world (yeah, besides sell us cool stuff) http://www.businessinsider.com/how-apples-phantom-taxes-hide-billions-in-profits-2012-7
by JPA
“Hides overseas to avoid paying US taxes” as though this is a bad thing? They earned that money through honest work and just because the government has a guns and points it at them saying they are going to do “good things” with your money doesnt obligate them to give it.