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One aspect I've not seen discussed is the impact of a commercial fiber service on city- and county-owned networks. In the past, when local governments have tri

One aspect I've not seen discussed is the impact of a commercial fiber service on city- and county-owned networks. In the past, when local governments have tried to roll out high-speed municipal internet access, they've faced bitter opposition from entrenched network providers (Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, etc). These companies refuse to roll out fiber, but also lobby for state laws against government-funded fiber[1]. The end result is that residents are left on decrepit old copper lines. Now there's a large[2] company rolling out fiber, and they have shown explicit desire to work with local governments. Depending on how the laws are written, it might be possible to achieve something close to a municipal network by contracting out to Google. And the Google fiber seems to be cheaper -- I can't find any municipal fiber services offering gigabit for less than $120. (bias disclaimer: I work for Google, but am not involved at all in fiber stuff) [1] http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/03/cable-backed-anti-muni-broadband-bill-advances-in-north-carolina/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/03/cable-backed-anti... [2] Sonic.net deploys fiber, also priced at $70 a month, but they are a very small regional ISP. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/06/1gbps-fiber-for-70in-america-yup/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/06/1gbps-fiber-for-7...

pasbesoin 14y ago
As I commented elsewhere, perhaps Google is the party with the deep pockets and legal expertise -- and lobbyists -- to take on and beat these entrenched monopolies/oligopolies. When a community of some thousands goes up against a corporation of 10's of thousands and a largely captive customer base of millions, in e.g. lobbying the state legislature, well, the deck seems kind of stacked. In Illinois, I recall specifically, SBC -- now AT&T -- received hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks and incentives, specifically with the agreement to promote and complete universal high speed access. They then promptly set their lawyers and lobbyists to finding ways to break their side of that agreement -- while keeping the incentives, of course. If Google wants unfettered access to unfettered customers (or eyeballs, if we're going to call the advertisers the customers... not to go there, at the moment), such partnerships might be a good way to identify and speed deployment. And... plenty of publicity about what people in many other countries are paying. Little seems to motivate the American consumer -- and voter -- more than a bargain, or feeling they're getting ripped off. And, since I'm typing away here, I hope Google will do it while treating their linepersons (technicians, etc.) decently. As a recent story here, with its high rating, pointed out, people are tired of seeing the line workers being abused. I'm not familiar with sonic.net in detail, but its CEO, Dane, seems a decent sort, and I bet they're not the worst employer -- whether direct or contract. (And since Google's already talking to him, maybe you all can pick his brains in this specific area.) Google still does some things that piss me off. [1] But I support this initiative -- I'll sign up as soon as I can, if and when -- unless Dane beats you to it. [1] Mentioning just one item: Give it up, already, with the "true names" initiative. Anonymity has its value and place within the online domain. Not just one of convenience, but one of necessity, for many people and contexts. P.S. I'm pretty tired, and I'm probably being to optimistic/idealistic, here. OTOH, having directly observed the crap dished out by AT&T, Comcast, and the like, I can readily believe there is plenty of room for improvement.
- vwoolf 14y ago
  Some of what you're describing sounds similar to "The Great FiOS rip-off": http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/the-great-verizon-fios-ripoff_b_1529287.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/the-great-veriz... .

pasbesoin 14y ago

As I commented elsewhere, perhaps Google is the party with the deep pockets and legal expertise -- and lobbyists -- to take on and beat these entrenched monopolies/oligopolies. When a community of some thousands goes up against a corporation of 10's of thousands and a largely captive customer base of millions, in e.g. lobbying the state legislature, well, the deck seems kind of stacked. In Illinois, I recall specifically, SBC -- now AT&T -- received hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks and incentives, specifically with the agreement to promote and complete universal high speed access. They then promptly set their lawyers and lobbyists to finding ways to break their side of that agreement -- while keeping the incentives, of course. If Google wants unfettered access to unfettered customers (or eyeballs, if we're going to call the advertisers the customers... not to go there, at the moment), such partnerships might be a good way to identify and speed deployment. And... plenty of publicity about what people in many other countries are paying. Little seems to motivate the American consumer -- and voter -- more than a bargain, or feeling they're getting ripped off. And, since I'm typing away here, I hope Google will do it while treating their linepersons (technicians, etc.) decently. As a recent story here, with its high rating, pointed out, people are tired of seeing the line workers being abused. I'm not familiar with sonic.net in detail, but its CEO, Dane, seems a decent sort, and I bet they're not the worst employer -- whether direct or contract. (And since Google's already talking to him, maybe you all can pick his brains in this specific area.) Google still does some things that piss me off. [1] But I support this initiative -- I'll sign up as soon as I can, if and when -- unless Dane beats you to it. [1] Mentioning just one item: Give it up, already, with the "true names" initiative. Anonymity has its value and place within the online domain. Not just one of convenience, but one of necessity, for many people and contexts. P.S. I'm pretty tired, and I'm probably being to optimistic/idealistic, here. OTOH, having directly observed the crap dished out by AT&T, Comcast, and the like, I can readily believe there is plenty of room for improvement.

vwoolf 14y ago
Some of what you're describing sounds similar to "The Great FiOS rip-off": http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/the-great-verizon-fios-ripoff_b_1529287.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/the-great-veriz... .