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Google Fiber will pass <~0.5% of total U.S. homes[0], even after they build out Austin and take over Provo. They have to start doing things much faster if they

by jjallen 13y ago

Google Fiber will pass <~0.5% of total U.S. homes[0], even after they build out Austin and take over Provo. They have to start doing things much faster if they will make a dent this decade. Google is selectively building out 'fiber hoods' - neighborhoods that bend over backwards to get the service, pre commit and make construction super easy - not full cities, by any means. Google Fiber was announced almost four years ago and has only a few tens of thousands of subscribers. While it's fun to get excited about what Google Fiber could be, it will be years before any material percentage of the country has the opportunity to use Google Fiber. Google is still building out small neighborhoods in Kansas City [1] [0]https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Q-sGUEiuT9VN__VPsFeorRtqmBGwnlIpLN61MzRTsUA/edit#slide=id.g2bd4c3781_00 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Q-sGUEiuT9VN__VPsFeo... [1]https://fiber.google.com/cities/kansascity/#zone=Kansas+City,+KS&fiberhood= https://fiber.google.com/cities/kansascity/#zone=Kansas+City...

abvdasker 13y ago
Google Fiber has so far only been an experiment. I see it as a very expensive, very ambitious proof of concept the likes of which only Google is capable of creating. This new announcement is evidence that their experiment of the last 4 years has succeeded. Google can only move so fast with this given the stranglehold Comcast has on the market right now and the regulatory obstacles. There is a killing to be made by undercutting the monopolistic pricing and terrible service Comcast provides right now (not to mention the ways ownership of distribution might benefit Google's content). TL;DR This is the next step in Google's big, slow play to become a major ISP.
- ericd 13y ago
  I think it's likely that this exists mostly as a threat to keep the big ISPs from getting complacent. If internet speeds improve via themselves or the ISPs, Google wins either way as internet usage increases.

by jjallen 13y ago

abvdasker 13y ago

Google Fiber has so far only been an experiment. I see it as a very expensive, very ambitious proof of concept the likes of which only Google is capable of creating. This new announcement is evidence that their experiment of the last 4 years has succeeded. Google can only move so fast with this given the stranglehold Comcast has on the market right now and the regulatory obstacles. There is a killing to be made by undercutting the monopolistic pricing and terrible service Comcast provides right now (not to mention the ways ownership of distribution might benefit Google's content). TL;DR This is the next step in Google's big, slow play to become a major ISP.

ericd 13y ago
I think it's likely that this exists mostly as a threat to keep the big ISPs from getting complacent. If internet speeds improve via themselves or the ISPs, Google wins either way as internet usage increases.