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This is really sad. If not even, google can do it, then who can? I guess consumers will continue to be abused by ISPs for quite some time. I don't blame At&t

This is really sad. If not even, google can do it, then who can? I guess consumers will continue to be abused by ISPs for quite some time. I don't blame At&t, they're just a vicious business taking advantage of a monopoly given by politicians and law makers. Politicians should be blamed - elected officials are supposed to have some kind of loyalty to their voter base.

flukus 10y ago
> This is really sad. If not even, google can do it, then who can? Government. They're generally pretty good at building infrastructure.
- Digory 10y ago
  I bet that's what Google thought, too. My understanding, though, is that Google only went to cities that agreed to clear all the red tape, in advance. So this project should have had most of the 'power of government' efficiency, short of the power of condemnation. I think the logistics and cost of last-mile wiring surprised them. While government can do it, too, this experiment seems to show [hard wired fiber is] not financially feasible at $100/month to willing consumers. The Government won't be cheaper at building here; just 'better' at subsidizing or socializing the cost through taxes on people who wouldn't pay it otherwise.
  - flukus 10y ago
    >While government can do it, too, this experiment seems to show it's not financially feasible at $100/month to willing consumers. It depends on what payback time they were expecting too. A government can handle it even if it takes 20-30+ years. Or even never for some things (like roads).
    - Digory 10y ago
      Alphabet has access to better capital rates than most local governments, I bet, and they could go decades without a dividend. But, yeah, government can decide there's no need for a return. Businesses mostly don't get rewarded for doing that.
  - ThrustVectoring 10y ago
    More likely what surprised them is how willing the telcos were to increase speed and reduce prices in the areas under service. That's the other area in which government has an advantage - they're much better positioned to collect positive externalities (or to deliberately cause them on behalf of the governed). Google gets much less out of internet prices halving than residents.

flukus 10y ago

> This is really sad. If not even, google can do it, then who can? Government. They're generally pretty good at building infrastructure.

Digory 10y ago
I bet that's what Google thought, too. My understanding, though, is that Google only went to cities that agreed to clear all the red tape, in advance. So this project should have had most of the 'power of government' efficiency, short of the power of condemnation. I think the logistics and cost of last-mile wiring surprised them. While government can do it, too, this experiment seems to show [hard wired fiber is] not financially feasible at $100/month to willing consumers. The Government won't be cheaper at building here; just 'better' at subsidizing or socializing the cost through taxes on people who wouldn't pay it otherwise.
- flukus 10y ago
  >While government can do it, too, this experiment seems to show it's not financially feasible at $100/month to willing consumers. It depends on what payback time they were expecting too. A government can handle it even if it takes 20-30+ years. Or even never for some things (like roads).
  - Digory 10y ago
    Alphabet has access to better capital rates than most local governments, I bet, and they could go decades without a dividend. But, yeah, government can decide there's no need for a return. Businesses mostly don't get rewarded for doing that.
- ThrustVectoring 10y ago
  More likely what surprised them is how willing the telcos were to increase speed and reduce prices in the areas under service. That's the other area in which government has an advantage - they're much better positioned to collect positive externalities (or to deliberately cause them on behalf of the governed). Google gets much less out of internet prices halving than residents.