By Earlier today, Google confirmed suspicion that it would be bringing its fiber internet and TV service to Austin, TX. This wouldn’t be the first launch of this sort from Google as the company delivered that same goodness to Kansas City a year ago. You had to expect that some of its competitors would be keeping an eye on the latest developments, and a couple have already responded with thoughts.
For starters, AT&T has decided to announce its own fiber rollout in Austin, TX. The location isn’t too random considering AT&T’s roots lie in Dallas. You would think the company would want to start there, but positioning itself in Austin is an obvious chess move.
AT&T didn’t go into detail about exact timing of the launch, cost, geographical feasibility and other issues, but it expects it will have the same opportunity and rights Google has to build out. Google didn’t respond with snarl, either, as the company reinforced its good guy stance by welcoming the competition and innovation in broadband internet.
Time Warner Cable also expressed interesting sentiment today. While the company didn’t announce anything in regards to fiber rollouts, its attitude toward the cause was a lot more pleasing than it’s shown before. It wasn’t long ago that Time Warner Cable justified its lack of movement in the gigabit internet space by telling everyone that consumers don’t want or need faster internet speeds. We all scoffed at the notion, of course, and it didn’t make Time Warner particularly hot on the dating scene for the future of the internet.
The stance seems to have been tweaked a bit today, though, as the company said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal that it is “prepared for added competition and believe that any innovation in broadband technology is good for all of us.” This isn’t an outright pledge to bring fiber to its customers, but it sounds like Time Warner Cable won’t be interested in sitting idly while the competition passes by. It should be a good couple of years for sure.
[via GigaOM]
Ready?…..FIGHT!
Comcast is apparently feeling the pressure as well… They’ve just doubled my internet speed for the same monthly price I pay…
Either way, I’m switching to Fiber as soon as it comes to Houston.
I can’t WAIT till google brings Fiber to California, I will throw my Comcast equipment straight through their store window, like that tire commercial
Lol make sure you take pics…don’t post them online but just to cherish it
Hey best idea! I would love to do it to AT&T too! Data caps, what Data caps, oh data caps to prevent you from dumping cable and getting all your movies via netflix, and Hulu, and Ytube.
Yes Data caps are to prevent peple from getting all the entertainment they want via broadband! And to kill Netflix and online content providers!
Oh really. I’m in Houston and going to check the Comcrap offers right now.
Ooo!! That’s nice to here, actually.
I hope they come here to Michigan some day. I’d love to tell comcast to shove it up their price gouging, and bad customer service @$$
yes, i have charter in mid-mich and they have bad customer service, and I pay over $100/mo (and on random months its like $50 more for no reason until I call in and complain) for basic cable with NO HD/DVR box and 15Mbps web…..its a joke.
I have the same thing happen, every. single. month. My bill goes up some amount. Last month they even asked me if I wanted to double my internet to 30mbps for $3 more, and I said no because my internet was fast enough and paying any dollar amount more is a waste. THEY RAISED IT TO MORE THAN $55 AND DIDN’T INCREASE MY INTERNET SPEED.
I plan on doing 1 or 2 things, let me know what you guys think.
1. I call in and them them I want to disconnect it because they continuously raise it without cause and actually disconnect it unless they offer nothing less than a reduced bill.
2. Or not pay the bill and wait for them to disconnect it on their own.
Yea, last time (I still live at home since I’m in college) my dad ended up filing a complaint with the state and we ended up keeping roughly the same rate for another year. We all know where that’s going after this year though.
This was Google’s plan along. Google is not a Service Provider; their goal is to force other companies to compete. Da faq is it paying $60 a month for only 15Mb a month?
15Mb* don’t let them fool you into thinking it’s megabytes.
Sorry got CAPS HEAVY…lol. Thanks for pointing that out.
No worries man!
Does FiOS have any presence in KC or Austin? I’d love to hear Verizon’s explanation on why Google can be so much faster and cheaper with the same infrastructure.
No neither area has VZ FIOS. And Fios is different. It uses GPON, Google is Active Ethernet. Supposedly the latter is better in a shared neighborhood.
FIOS was in Austin. Did they back out?
because Google isn’t trying to make any money off the fiber service, their income will increase as people will use the cloud more due to faster connections.
yes, well done Sherlock
Google needs to bring fiber to Daytona Beach, FL or Orlando, FL next. >_<
No! West coast first!
CANADA!
$100 for 25Mb service with 165GB of usage.
Make it stop. Please make it stop…
Is this true?!?!?!
sadly yes…
Modem rental, happy service fees, taxes…
Or you can switch to a lower speed with next to no usage, but a more reasonable price.
Problem is, the cheaper option where I am isn’t available in my neighborhood, and I could save a few bucks by switching to a newer package with the same speed but they cut the usage down by 20%, so I’d spend more on getting more usage….. it’s so f’ing bs and our ISP’s have us by the balls.
I could buy my modem for $200 or keep paying $4 a month… Honestly, I don’t know how long I’m gonna be at my current place so I don’t want to buy it haha
So if Google brought Gigabit Fiber to your street for $70 a month, your ISP would go bankrupt! LMFAO!
Pretty much… haha
Orlando for SURE!
Until AT&T and friends effectively legislate that there can be no new competition.
The lobbyists are already at work.
Well they should prepare for Googles lobbyists, because they sure do have plenty on that front.
I hope Google Fiber corrects this problem—-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ilMx7k7mso
….raising prices to optimum cockbag levels and forcing us to oligobble their balls…
actually they do optimun my freaking internet supposed to be on boost with 50MBPS n its running about 30Mbps still damn slow only some parts they run 53Mbps
funny clip
Time Warner Internet is far too expensive, and its speeds are awful. I had it, will never again.
Maryland could use some love. However, I have been happy with Comcast for my high speed needs.
When I heard I can have 1Gbps for the same price that I pay Comcast for 12Mbps, I got really upset.
I understand that. Comcast does overcharge, I can usually get a special out of them after my year expires. I have 60mbps, and it suits my needs, but, of course I would love to double that at the same price.
1,000Mbps vs Comcast 12 Mbps. Look at how upsetting that is…..
Very.
Love the sense of competition…long overdue.
One day soon the line between cable TV and Internet will disappear.
So I won’t be stuck with Comcast, but could choose between ATT, Google, Verizon and maybe TW & Cable vision and end the oligopoly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0ilMx7k7mso
See below…
Google innovates, everyone else follows due to market pressures!
Same reason the Ipad Mini exists, ONLY because of the success of the Amazon Kindle HD and Nexus 7, market pressure.
I hope Google mobile services launches in Canada too because we have one of the worst internet speed with the highest price. 2mb/s with 60gb bandwith translates to $50 a month here. Guess what price it is for top speed with unlimited bandwith? Go ahead take a wild fucking guess, you won’t be far off…
about $199 with Shaw at 200mbits ( not guaranteed so if you get 100mbits you are lucky) oh and its still not an unlimited amount.
Google Fiber….Please come to the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area…I need to give Verizon FiOS the BOOT!!!!!
Well Google is happy that time warner is upgrading, what Google wants is a huge and fast internet infrastructure, that’s the only reason they started fiber. I don’t think Google wants to make money with Fiber, but with increasing consumers using the cloud instead of local storage, which will increase Google’s main revenue, strengthen it’s business in the Business Application sector and so on. If people can access their cloud as efficient as their local drives, then Microsoft and it’s office are in trouble to compete with a free Google drive and other free Google applications.
FIBER helps ease constipation, and California’s hella constipated man. C’mon Google, help out your own home state!!! We love you: http://www.newtrent.com/ See? <3
If there was a movement to get fiber on the level of legalization of weed, then you’d probably stand a good chance of getting it. Can’t put it all on Google. They have to fight lazy state legislatures and politicians frozen to inaction due to the local monopolies they’ve built up and supported (and consequently been supported by) all these years.
“This is your body… without fibre!!!” http://www. you tube .com/ watch?v = IkMPZ7 WeDck
Time Warner better feel some pressure, their service is absolutely atrocious. If I had any other option but Time Warner (and dish, but I never count dish as an option) I would drop them in a heart beat. Since Google won’t be opening shop in LA any time soon, Time Warner will likely keep on providing me internet at half the speed I pay for with constant down times (just hope my internet doesn’t drop before this message finishes posting, it wouldn’t be the first or even 100th time).
those companies need to get with the program or there will be mass exodus right when there is an alternative.
What is the purpose of fiber? More money for what, faster speeds than content can be delivered? No thanks. Fiber is useless for the masses without content.
Fiber allows the content to be delivered at these speeds. You just don’t ever get the max because you’re not the only one using it. Right?
Netflix will be delivered at the same speed. Same with Spotify and any other streaming service. Web pages are already instantaneous on any decent connection which there are plenty in Austin. Now if you have numerous people in the house streaming, gaming and such all at the same time, then I see the benefit, but that is not the situation for the masses.
You sir, newfangled education….
Remember 10 years ago when we streamed 1080p video over DSL? Ya, exactly… that never happened…
To increase speeds from the web sites and services, we need 2 things. The first is a faster connection from the customer, the second is a faster connection from the server…. and since a better network infrastructure brings both, then you point is rendered stupid. All it takes is more homes and offices being connected and the availability of those faster speeds will become very useful.
And btw: the new TV standard of 4k resolution is gonna be impossible for Netflix to deliver without better data speeds…
You have given one use an ultra speed connection. 4k is like bluray, the masses don’t care about bluray, nor will they care about 4k. 4k isn’t very useful at normal viewing distance just as 1080 provides little benefit over 720 at normal viewing distance. Give me a realistic use for gigabit speeds.
Well in google’s case they are not asking for more money AND they offer a free service option with a very reasonable setup fee if someone didnt want all that speed, which is good enough for most casual users.
https://fiber.google.com/about/
I’m not saying the Google service isn’t great for competition, but everyone seems obsessed with fiber and that’s what I don’t get.
Google is great an all, but don’t there stuff usually have issues in the beginning? I’m afraid to jump on this train as soon as it hits Houston. I want to hear some reviews. See how it works during rainy, windy, hot, and humid weather within one day.
Fiber optic cable doesn’t really care. It is light.
Oh you are a hawty babe! And with all that best friend money you must be like the perfect catch OMG. If only I could sex a robot…
Seriously though, do people really read these stupid posts and go to the site?
Does Google Fiber have a TV service seeing that is where Comcast Time Warner and Verizon make there money
Switched to FiOS this month because of crappy TWC speeds.
There will never be a nationwide Fiber roll out without government subsidization…..why would charter/comcast/att spend the billions of dollars on Fiber when they are making record profits off of their 10Mbps-30Mbps unreliable connections….
“Fiber makes AT&T, Time Warner’s bowels move”
Hey AT&T has Data Caps, they meter you! So go on get AT&T’s Gib service, so you can hit the cap faster yeah cause enough dopes keep them in business like that!
Also If AT&T and Cable are ready to offer same speed at same terms, ok, then make the legal gaurantee and let Google go to another city instead of Austin!
Got to love Google. They keep innovating and forcing the competition to innovate as well. Hopefully this is the beginning of 1gbps internet for all.