Google Fiber

thekillingwax · July 27, 2012, 04:53:36 AM

Kansas City is the first place in the country to get Google's new fiber internet/tv service and good god- it's amazing.

https://fiber.google.com/plans/residential/

For $120/month you can get

1 gigabit internet (comcast maxes out at a tenth the speed), absolutely NO bandwidth/download caps and full TV service (minus premium movie channels)
Nexus tablet that functions as your remote control.
Home wired/wireless router
2TB Home Media Server
GoogleTV boxes that not only function like traditional receivers but are also wireless access points themselves, so they extend wi-fi coverage.
The option to buy a Chromebook for $299

For $70, you can get just the Gigabit internet access

Or for a $300 installation fee (they'll let you pay $25/month for 1 year), they offer at least 7 years of free internet access (5Mb- not too horrible for free)

This is honestly amazing and I hope they spread and do well and eventually bring companies like Comcast to their knees.

Dog Walker · July 27, 2012, 07:55:10 AM

^ +1 ! That's about what I pay Comcast now for one tenth the service.

What's Kansas City got that they were selected not Jacksonville and how do we get on Google's list?

Jason · July 27, 2012, 09:20:32 AM

If I remember, their mayor made a HUGE announcement that they wanted to be the first. Even ghanged their name to Google for a day.

mtraininjax · July 27, 2012, 10:14:05 AM

Ha ha ha, I had Google's Postini service at my old company along with their Spam product, they have NO CUSTOMER SERVICE PHONE NUMBER for any of their apps, and now they plan to get into the Consumer Business? By the way, ATT is now in the business of selling alarm systems, in Dallas.

I don't see either one working out well for the consumer. I'll stick with Comcast who has local offices in Jax.

chipwich · July 27, 2012, 10:59:10 AM

Google is by no means a perfect company, but I personally rank them among the most admirable companies to have ever existed.

They have fundamentally changed the way we live (in a good way). Their search engine is unmatched. Their other services including maps, mail and youtube have made life better for anyone who uses it. Android has brought smartphones to the masses (unlike the Apple's more expensive iPhone).

I also trust them with my information. Granted, I understand they want to sell everyone's search patterns to advertisers, but they have to make money, thus I understand and accept this. Unlike Facebook, you know your user information is safe and not sold to the next higest bidder or displayed for all the world to see.

Unlike Yahoo and Microsoft, Google actually put up a fight before handing over any search data to the government. They were also courageous enough to challenge censorship laws in China (which has the highest growth prospects by far).

Their "Don't be evil" slogan still exists and I take comfort that they are looking out for the consumer. So I fully welcome them into the of becoming a service provider. I do agree with mtrain though. They will need to learn how to establish a customer service base.

Comcast is a good provider. I have always had a good experience with their customer service, though their prices do leave room for improvement. I wouldn't wish AT&T on my worst enemy. If Google could uproot them from the market and make it a Comast vs Google brawl, I think consumers would benefit greatly. If AT&T could just go out of business, then all American consumers would greatly benefit.

thekillingwax · July 27, 2012, 07:16:46 PM

Comcast is okay, I haven't had any problems with their service but according to them, within a year, they're going to move to a very strict data cap and charge you for overages (I think ATT does this currently). There is absolutely ZERO reason to do this other than money. Someone that downloads 400GB/month vs 1GB does not make one bit of difference- look at places in europe where they have similar data packages to Google's- no one's going out of business because people are downloading more. In the old days, high data users typically were pirates or sharing accounts. What it boils down to these days is that Comcast and the other ISPs are threatened by streaming services like Netflix. I think I was pushing over 500 last month and the vast majority of that is Netflix because I rarely watch satellite anymore. In fact, I know I could be perfectly happy with just netflix and ditch the satellite but there are some shows my wife records and I'm honestly too lazy to download them for her.

Other folks have mentioned concerns over Google's very *very* low key support but I imagine they'll ramp it up a bit for such a large consumer service. I don't care though, for those kind of rates, I'd let them come over and punch me in the face once a month.

peestandingup · July 27, 2012, 07:55:41 PM

None of this will probably matter since:

A. The future is clearly mobile data. In less than 10 years I'd wager wired "at home" internet access will be an afterthought (just like at home phone service is now).

B. Desktops & laptops will be dead, replaced by "be anywhere" tablets & phones. Not even mentioning Apple & Google's future OS, just look at the new Windows. Its a tablet OS first, with modest support for desktop/laptop "legacy" machines. Mac OS X will be retired eventually, or combined into one unified OS (iOS).

If Google really wanted to cause a disruption, then they need to get into mobile data.

thekillingwax · July 27, 2012, 11:41:57 PM

4G is starting to get decent speeds but the prices and data caps are insane. Probably 90% of what I use my pc for is gaming. Never could get into consoles and once the pc gaming market dies, I honestly figure I'll only use the internet for media. But, if someone wants to offer 50mb+ wireless that does take my wallet out back and shoot it, I'm game.

xjm311 · July 28, 2012, 01:42:18 PM

Comcast plans

http://www.pcworld.com/article/259824/comcast_rolls_out_305_mbps_internet_service_fueled_by_verizon_fios.html

danem · July 28, 2012, 03:05:39 PM

Quote from: thekillingwax on July 27, 2012, 11:41:57 PM
4G is starting to get decent speeds but the prices and data caps are insane. Probably 90% of what I use my pc for is gaming. Never could get into consoles and once the pc gaming market dies, I honestly figure I'll only use the internet for media. But, if someone wants to offer 50mb+ wireless that does take my wallet out back and shoot it, I'm game.

Pretty much nailed it. Wireless right now is a cross section of too slow and too expensive, especially now that unlimited is on its way out the door. I can't see wired going away, especially for offices.

I see tablets becoming the mainstay of the casual internet users, but laptops and desktops are going to stay to some extent, particularly for those who do work. I do see some kind of hybrid docking station going on in the future, where you take your tablet home and plug it in and *ding* now it's a computer with a full monitor and keyboard. But that monitor may be a 40 inch TV and a wireless keyboard and mouse. Possibilities are exciting!

thekillingwax · July 28, 2012, 07:48:34 PM

Quote from: xjm311 on July 28, 2012, 01:42:18 PM
Comcast plans

http://www.pcworld.com/article/259824/comcast_rolls_out_305_mbps_internet_service_fueled_by_verizon_fios.html

$300/month though. One thing the article mentions that I have always liked about comcast- when they upgrade the existing tiers, current users get the faster speeds at no extra cost. I think we've gone from 8mb to 30 over the years and it's still the same amount. Actually, I think for one year it was almost half off because they gave us a big discount because one of their contractors botched a exterior wiring job.