Today and announced that the popular coffee shop will be switching to Google as Starbucks’ free WiFi provider, dropping . Over the next 18 months, Starbucks will convert more 7,000 U.S. stores to Google, which will increase speeds and enable users to surf the web up to 10 times faster. (For those in Google Fiber cities, like Kansas, users will see speeds up to 100 times faster.) …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Every day is a beautiful day in the fiberhood, unless blazing fast Internet speeds haven’t come to your town yet.
The chosen ones in Kanas City, Austin and Provo are getting Internet connections that are 100 times faster than average at very low prices, thanks to Google’s Fiber project.
Unfortunately, you and I don’t live there. So we’re stuck in a bandwidth backwater.
As Internet trolls like to say: U mad, bro?
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld
Google’s Fiber project in in Kanas City, Austin and Provo shows that very high Internet speeds are possible in the U.S., but nobody except Google is working to make it happen.
If reactions to the first public meeting following Provo and ’s announcement that Provo will be the third U.S. city to receive Google Fiber are an indication, the proposal will have no trouble achieving City Council approval on April 23.
From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2013/04/20/provo-utahs-response-to-google-fiber-1/
Google is acquiring iProvo, a fiber-optic network owned by the city of Provo, Utah, as part of a plan to introduce its high-speed broadband network called Google Fiber there.
As part of the acquisition, Google will upgrade the network to gigabit technology and finish network construction so that every home along the existing iProvo network will have the opportunity to connect to Google Fiber, the company announced in a blog post on Wednesday.
Provo Mayor John Curtis on Wednesday announced an agreement with Google to give the city access to Google Fiber. Apart from purchasing iProvo, which was set up in 2004, Google has committed to offer free Internet service at 5Mbps speed to every home along the existing iProvo network for a US$30 activation fee and no monthly charge for at least seven years. Google is also committed to provide free Gigabit Internet service to 25 local public institutions including schools, hospitals and libraries.
The price Google is paying for iProvo was not disclosed. The city decided to sell the troubled network about 18 months ago, and approached Google to purchase it.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A little over a week after announcing that Austin would become the second city in the Google Fiber roll-out, it looks like another American locale will get the high speed Internet treatment. In their official blog, Google announced that Provo, Utah will be the third U.S. city involved in the Google Fiber program.
“We believe the future of the Internet will be built on gigabit speeds, and we’re sure the businesses and residents of Provo already have some good ideas for what they’d build with a gig,” Google Fiber GM Kevin Lo wrote in the blog post announcing the partnership.
From: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/17/provo-utah-becomes-third-us-city-to-get-google-fiber
If I were investing in residential real estate, I’d start snapping up development lots in Provo, Utah. Google has announced it’s bringing Google Fiber to town.
From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/economaney/2013/04/17/where-id-be-investing-in-residential-real-estate/
By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Search giant Google recently outlined plans to expand its Google Fiber service to Austin, Texas. That represents a disruptive threat to local incumbent cable providers such as Time Warner Cable and AT&T . Austinites will probably switch en masse to the new service, which will hurt both Time Warner and AT&T. Ma Bell promptly responded by announcing its own intention to build a gigabit fiber optic service if it could wrangle the same incentives as Google.
In the following video, Austin-based Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, explains why he’s excited to ditch his cable company.
As one of the most dominant Internet companies ever, Google has made a habit of driving strong returns for its shareholders. However, like many other Web companies, it’s also struggling to adapt to an increasingly mobile world. Despite gaining an enviable lead with its Android operating system, the market isn’t sold. That’s why it’s more important than ever to understand each piece of Google’s sprawling empire. In The Motley Fool’s new premium research report on Google, we break down the risks and potential rewards for Google investors. Simply click here now to unlock your copy of this invaluable resource.
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From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/14/i-cant-wait-to-ditch-my-cable-company-for-google/
By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool
Source: Google.
Thus far, the company’s big push into becoming an Internet service provider, or ISP, has mostly been relegated in
Filed under: Investing
Let’s face it: America is being held captive. That’s the case that law professor Susan P. Crawford makes in her book Captive Audience, which describes the current monopolistic state of the telecommunications industry.
When it comes to the Internet, a technology that has unarguably revolutionized the world and the global economy, America severely lags behind other countries. We’re talking about a technology that America created, yet the average American is relegated to inferior speeds compared with other parts of the world, and many rural areas don’t even have broadband service.
A sad status quo
In many ways, Internet access can be considered a necessary utility nowadays, much like electricity. Unfortunately, the people who can afford it are paying too much, while there’s still a large chunk of the population that can’t afford it at all.
One reason for this sad status quo is that the sector inherently requires an oligopoly structure. Not everyone can afford spending $19.7 billion on infrastructure, which is what AT&T dropped on capital expenditures last year, in addition to the $20.3 billion spent in 2011.
Along the way, the industry became segregated into wired and wireless sectors. Comcast and Time Warner Cable dominated the wired side, while AT&T and Verizon primarily call the shots in wireless.
With wired connections, most of the networks around the country are built with antiquated copper wires. Some companies have built high-speed fiber optic networks, but that’s a costly upgrade. Verizon began building its FiOS network in 2006 but has since reversed course and won’t expand beyond its current obligations. It simply wasn’t worth it to invest in FiOS, since it would still be too hard to compete.
Barring a consumer uprising, there’s little incentive for wired incumbents to invest heavily in fiber optic networks when they can hinder competition in other ways.
Enter Google Fiber.
Liberation!
The search giant’s gigabit fiber optic service promises Internet speeds up to 100 times what the average American has and represents a truly disruptive threat to the wired telecom sector.
Source: Google.
Thus far, the company’s big push into becoming an Internet service provider, or ISP, has mostly been relegated in Kansas City, which straddles the state line between Kansas and Missouri. Kansas City has a little over 600,000 people, combining both sides. The company just announced its plans to expand Google Fiber deep in the heart of Texas, bringing the service to Austin. The Live Music Capital of the World boasts a population of more than 820,000.
For fortunate residents within Google Fiber‘s growing footprint, the decision is a no-brainer compared with current offerings. Google hasn’t finished pricing in Austin yet, where I live, but I’m currently paying about $60 per month before taxes and fees for a 20 Mbps connection from Time Warner Cable. The Kansas City pricing is $70 per month for a Gigabit (1,000 Mbps) connection. Boost my speed by 50 times for an
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/13/how-google-hopes-to-liberate-america-from-cable-ca/
By Tim Brugger, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
What’s faster than a speeding cable Internet connection, and able to leap between mobile computing and old-school TV in a single bound? If you ask Google , the answer’s simple: lightning-fast fiber-optic Internet service.
As it stands, broad access to Google’s service has been limited to the greater Kansas City area, so Fiber’s been little more than an intriguing notion. But with news that Austin, Texas, is next up on Google Fiber‘s hit parade, the prospects are becoming intriguing that Google could build an entirely new source of revenue and turn the Internet industry upside down.
Austin, here we come
The official announcement that Fiber is coming to Austin was supposed to be a closely guarded secret, but that didn’t last long. A local news outlet leaked the story a week ago that Google Fiber was going to be the subject of the joint press conference with Google and Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell. Austin seems like a natural for Fiber, since it’s widely viewed as a domestic hotbed of IT. Beginning in mid-2014, local residents will be able to choose Internet service for $70 a month, or $120 a month with Fiber TV service, at connection speeds 100 times faster than cable, according to Google.
With two new Fiber announcements in a matter of weeks — the service is also expanding to Olathe, Kan. — it appears Google Fiber is ramping up after its K.C.-area beta test. Though most industry insiders don’t believe Google intends to take over the Internet connectivity market, Google CFO Patrick Pichette did say, “We really think that we should be making business — a good business — with this opportunity [Fiber], and we’re going to continue to look at the possibility of expanding.” Investors and Google shareholders should like the sound of that; more revenue streams mean less reliance on Internet advertising.
Cable companies must be scared, right?
Are cable Internet providers concerned about the threat posed by Google Fiber? If so, they aren’t showing it yet. It’s probably just a coincidence that my cable provider, Comcast , recently offered to crank up my Internet connectivity speed at no charge. That’s right — a cable company opted to improve service without charging. Interesting.
Time Warner Cable , Comcast, and Charter Communications , have all been on the other side of the Internet subscriber fence. Phone companies such as AT&T and Verizon began losing customers to these and other cable Internet providers some time ago, largely because of speed and connectivity issues. And now along comes Google Fiber with an alternative that blows the doors off anything Comcast, Time Warner, or Charter can offer, and often for the same or less money. If the cable industry isn’t worried, it should be.
Not all the growth in cable companies’ Internet customers comes from defections from the phone companies, but Internet continues to be a profitable area of growth in the industry. Charter saw an 8% jump in Internet customers in 2012
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Austin residents are about to get some major Internets: after being chosen by Google to be the second city involved in its high-speed Google Fiber roll-out (after Kansas City), AT&T announced yesterday that it would bring rival fiber service Project VIP to the home of South By Southwest.
The network fiber service, which would provide “speeds up to 1 gigabit per second,” according to the company’s press release, doesn’t have an expected roll-out date. However, it’s likely that we’ll see both Project VIP and Google Fiber racing to get an early jump and secure Austinites’ loyalties.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Tech
By Rick Munarriz, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
It’s official: Google‘s going to roll out its high-speed Internet and television service in Austin, Texas. After days of swirling rumors, the search giant confirmed Austin as its second expansion market on Tuesday.
Google Fiber is already giving residents of Kansas City (both Kansas and Missouri) Internet access at speeds that are 100 times faster than traditional broadband for just $70 a month. Gigabit Internet paired up with a high-def TV for just $120 is a steal — and that’s the point.
Google doesn’t want to compete against Comcast and smaller cable and satellite television providers. Big G just wants to keep them honest. In this video, Rick Munarriz details why Google is doing the right thing by taking on Comcast and other service providers, even if a model that’s high in initial capital outlays and low in subsequent profit margins is foreign to Google’s flagship other online pursuits.
Google needs to keep the Internet fast and affordable, and Rick says it may as well lead by example.
The battle of titans isn’t just taking place when it comes to access. It’s incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out “Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks” in The Motley Fool’s latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged among the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.
The article Google Is Smarter Than You May Think originally appeared on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Google. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Google will roll out its second city fiber network in Austin, Texas, offering gigabit-speed Internet and TV along with free basic broadband on plans similar to those in Kansas City, Missouri and its twin city in Kansas.
The company said it will start building out the network next year. Pricing has not been set, but Google expects it to be similar to what is charged in Kansas City. Residents there pay US$70 per month for gigabit Internet, both upstream and downstream, and $120 per month for Internet plus TV.
The capital city of Texas, a hub for technology and the arts and site of the annual South By Southwest festival, was a natural choice for the Google Fiber program and campaigned to be Google’s first choice in 2010 when the company first sought applications. At an event on Tuesday morning, monitored via a live stream from Austin TV station KVUE, City Council member Laura Morrison said she envisioned special uses of the bandwidth in Austin, such as live film festivals and concerts streamed into users’ homes.
Google plans to build fiber networks in an unspecified number of cities in order to demonstrate what consumers and businesses can do with 1G bps (bit per second) of Internet access. The U.S. needs faster and cheaper Internet service to foster education and innovation, said Milo Medin, vice president of Google Fiber.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld
Google is ramping up the competition on dominant cable companies and ISPs with its super-fast broadband network, known as Google Fiber. The search giant announced Tuesday that it is expanding Google Fiber to Austin, Texas, the third big metropolitan area after Kansas City and Olathe, Missouri. It is also offering a free Internet connection at 5 megabits-per-second to residents of Kansas City for seven years, provided they pay a one-time construction fee. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Tim Worstall, Contributor That Google Fiber is a great thing to have seems obvious: who wouldn’t want 1 Gbs fibre to the home? And it’s also something that could be rolled out nationwide if Google and or consumers really wanted it to be. However, there’s an interesting little report over here that tells us why it probably won’t be rolled out: Previous estimates have pegged a nationwide Google Fiber deployment at somewhere around $140 billion. Granted truly estimating the costs can be tricky given that Google is getting some real sweetheart deals that determine which cities get connected. Deals like the one they struck in Kansas City not only allow Google to cherry pick locations (even though they’ve installed a democratic system to determine neighborhoods), it allows them to walk away from the project entirely within two years if they get bored. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By The Huffington Post News Editors
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Google Inc. is expected to name tech-savvy Austin as the second city where the search giant will offer its ultra-fast home Internet service.
Google and Texas Gov. Rick Perry scheduled a Tuesday morning announcement in Austin. Industry groups and observers are widely expecting Austin to receive Google’s fiber-optic network that’s capable of reaching speeds far greater than average cable-modem connections.
Last summer, Kansas City became the first metro area in the U.S. to receive Google Fiber.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Google Inc. is expected to name tech-savvy Austin as the second city where the search giant will offer its ultra-fast home Internet service. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Phys.org
According to a recent article from an ABC affiliate in Austin, TX, the city has been chosen as the next in line to receive Google Fiber. The incredibly fast broadband network – offering speeds up to 100 times faster than regular broadband – has been operational in Kansas City since 2012 and it’s likely that denizens of Austin will have similar packages available at launch, including a $70 per month gigabit plan, a $120 option that includes TV service, or a seven-year regular broadband plan after a $300 installation charge.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Tech
Google Fiber’s super fast broadband Internet service may be coming to tech-friendly Austin, Texas, where the likes of Dell, Samsung and Intel have already set up shop.
Austin news affiliate KVUE is reporting that “multiple City of Austin sources confirmed” that the city would be “next on the list.” In another sign, Google and the city have sent out invitations to an April 9 press event in which it will make “a very important announcement that will have a positive impact on Austinites and the future of the city.”
While Google hasn’t confirmed the rumors, recently its own Fiber website reportedly temporarily included a placeholder titled “Google Fiber’s next stop: Austin, Texas.”
Google Fiber, with 1000 Mbps download and upload speeds, is 100 times faster than the Internet connection that most people have today. That means no more buffering videos, cloud gaming that doesn’t slow down the entire house, and the genesis of HD videoconferencing for the average Joe.
And it’s cheap.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld
