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Google Fiber won’t offer TV in San Antonio and Louisville
It's no secret that Google Fiber is struggling. Its CEO George McCray stepped down in July, only five months into his term, and parent company Alphabet has yet to announce a replacement. On top of that, Fiber's rollout hasn't gone as planned, with the company reportedly running up the budget and having to compromise on the products it offers consumers. And things don't seem to be getting much better. Google Fiber has now revealed that when it launches in Louisville, Kentucky and San Antonio, Texas, it will only focus on providing high-speed internet and not a TV add-on.
Google's high-speed Fiber internet goes live in Salt Lake City
If Google's experimental Fiber plans pan out, 24 locations across the US will be able to try it out. You know which place doesn't have to wait for that to happen, though? Salt Lake City, Utah. The service officially went live in the state capital at 9AM on August 24th. Fiber's initial rollout covers roughly 112 blocks from 100 South to 800 South between 400 West and 1300 East, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Google even launched a portal where you can check if your address is within that area. Even if it's not, you might not have to wait that long anyway -- the company said the rest of the city will get access to Fiber within the coming months.
Google Fiber to test home wireless internet in up to 24 US areas
According to an FCC filing, Google Fiber's next experimental stage is nigh. The tech titan is purportedly seeking permission to test high-speed wireless broadband in 24 US locations, including 12 cities, for a period up to 24 months. Their goal: hook a bunch of company men up and try out experimental transmitters over the 3.4 to 3.8 GHz frequency range.
AT&T expands its fiber internet service to 38 new cities
AT&T's mission to blanket most of the US with gigabit internet is moving at full speed. Today, the network revealed that its GigaPower fiber service is coming to 38 more cities, adding to the 18 metro areas it's already available in. The newly announced places include Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland and Memphis, along with 29 others. In a blog post, AT&T said that it's not done either, noting that it plans to bring GigaPower to over 14 million locations, both residential and commercial.
Google Fiber is (possibly) heading to North Carolina
North Carolina residents might soon see Google Fiber vans driving down the streets. According to several publications, Mountain View has invited local Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham officials to a super secret "Save the Date" event on Wednesday, January 28th. The email invitation is reportedly devoid of any pertinent information, aside from the date, time and the promise that there will be "more details to come." While it could be for a completely different service, there's a reason why local authorities would think it's all about Fiber: Google has long named those locations as next possible sites for its Gigabit internet offering.
Seattle's high-speed internet project delayed due to money problems
Seattle residents may have to wait a while longer for high-speed fiber internet -- Gigabit Squared (the company developing the network) won't be able to deliver as promised. According to GeekWire, the city's fiber-to-the-home initiative is facing major issues securing financing, to the point that Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is "very concerned it's not going to work." He says that he hasn't exactly given up on the private sector, but he'd campaign for the government to build its own network if he could. Unfortunately, he's stepping down next month, and it's up to his replacement to decide. The project was supposed to launch in select locations in early 2014, offering up to 1Gbps up and down for $80 per month. Gigabit has yet to make a statement, but we'll let you know if the project gets back on its feet -- or if Google Fiber decides to step in and pick up the slack.
Verizon FiOS rolls out 500/100 Mbps broadband, its highest speed tier yet
The broadband speed wars continue to rage, and today, Verizon announced that it's throwing down with its fastest tier yet. With a download speed of 500 megabits per second (and an upload speed of 100Mbps), the leap forward marks the latest evolution of the company's fiber-optic Quantum Internet Service, which rolled out last summer. To put those numbers into perspective, you'll be able to download a 5GB HD movie in 1.4 minutes or upload a 100MB file in eight seconds, assuming you're operating at full speed. Verizon is hoping to gradually introduce its newest speed tier to all FiOS markets by 2014, with limited availability starting today. To hear what Big Red has to say about it, check out the video after the break.
Rural Canadian town developing nation's first 1Gbps internet service
All you cool city cats on DSL, eat your heart out -- a 1Gbps fiber internet service will soon be speeding up the lives of 8,500 residents in Olds, a rural community in Alberta, Canada. Around 60% of the populace can sign up for the $170 / month plan at the moment, but a new pricing scheme will bring it down to $57. That's cheaper than Google Fiber, folks, which is made possible by the fact that the town itself owns the service. In fact, it's the Olds Institute for Community and Regional Development (a non-profit) that took the bull by the horns, securing a $2.5 million grant from the Alberta government and a $6 million loan from the town itself to fund the fiber network construction. It's thanks to the town's authorities that the residents can soon rid themselves of crappy internet, while the rest of us can only look on in envy. [Image credit: Barta IV / Flickr]
Chicago mayor targets affordable gigabit broadband, free WiFi throughout city parks
If Rahm Emanuel has his way, then Chicago's broadband access may very well give Kansas City a run for its money. The mayor of the Windy City has now revealed a rather ambitious initiative that would (ideally) overhaul the city's broadband infrastructure and provide affordable, gigabit-class fiber internet to areas that primarily serve industry, higher education and entrepreneurial startups. The idea came to Emanuel through Eric Schmidt, who suggested the upgrade be coordinated alongside the city's overhaul of its aging water / sewer system. Before any of this can happen, however, Chicago must first secure commitments from companies that would be willing to install and pay for the new upgrades. As a potential incentive, it's been suggested by Crain's Chicago Business that the city may offer some of its own unused fiber resources on a favorable lease. In addition to the hopes for ultra-fast broadband, Emanuel's project, dubbed the Chicago Broadband Challenge, also seeks to extend low-cost, high-speed internet to underserved areas of the city and to bring free WiFi access to all public spaces such as parks and plazas. Although mostly a token gesture, mayor Emanuel announced the immediate availability of free WiFi in Chicago's Millennium Park. The city is currently soliciting plans and proposals of how to approach the ambitious project, and you're invited to become a bit more familiar with these grand ambitions with the PR and source links below. [Chicago photo credit: Nimesh M / Flickr]
Time Warner Cable expanding fiber broadband coverage in NYC, only businesses to benefit
Google, we're not in Kansas anymore, we're in New York, where Time Warner Cable is planning to drop $25 million on expanding its (up to) 1Gbps fiber broadband infrastructure. Specifically, the additional network is hitting neglected areas in Brooklyn and Manhattan, but it's not for general consumption -- it's strictly for businesses. Don't feel too disheartened though -- you might not be getting a slice of this particular fiber pie, but it's all you can eat, all the time at the free WiFi buffet.
Comcast reportedly prepping 305Mbps internet service, aims to put FiOS in its place
Sure, at 300Mbps Verizon's FiOS Quantum is lightning fast -- but reports say that Comcast is prepping a new tier that's just a little faster. According to Broadband Reports sources, Comcast's Neil Smit told employees that the company would be introducing a 305Mbps downstream tier in Verizon FiOS territories "soon," but neglected to mention a strict timetable. Details regarding pricing and data caps are similarly scarce, of course. Comcast has yet to comment on the rumor, but we'll let you know if we hear anything official.
Verizon intros FiOS Quantum, officially priced up to 300Mbps
What's faster than FiOS internet service? FiOS Quantum evidently, as Verizon's latest high-speed internet service gets an official name and pricing. Effectively doubling every tier -- except the entry-level 15/5 -- each can be acquired with or without a custom bundle, double or triple play, and range in price from $65 to $175 a month -- except the 300 down / 65 up which is only available by itself for $210 a month. Willing to commit for two years? Well, then you can save yourself a few extra bucks a month. Existing customers won't have to pay an upgrade fee to take advantage of the new speed, but their bill will probably go up about $10 to $15 a month -- depending on what other changes they might make to their bundle. The real question is can one even take advantage of these crazy speeds, but we for one would love to find out.
Verizon doubles FiOS speeds to 300Mbps, thumb-twiddling waits are officially over
Verizon's IP network traffic jam apparently wasn't that much of an issue, since it just kicked up the speeds for FiOS service by a notch... or ten. Unless you're a spendthrift sticking to the base 15Mbps plan, download speeds have more than doubled across the board -- including to an eye-watering 300Mbps if you opt for the costliest plan. Upload speeds aren't advancing quite so quickly, although those who spring for the two highest tiers will see their upload speeds crack 65Mbps. The fiber speed-up is being attributed to a flood of Internet video and cloud backups, both of which get downright reasonable at 300Mbps; Verizon figures that both a 2-hour HD movie download and a 10GB backup will finish in 22 minutes or less. Whether or not pricing will have changed will have to wait until the speed upgrades take effect in June. Somehow, we can't imagine a drop anytime soon in the $200 monthly outlay for the top tier.
