fiber-to-the-home
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Gigabit Squared outlines Seattle fiber prices: 1Gbps for $80 per month
Ultra-high-speed fiber-to-the-home from Gigabit Squared isn't scheduled to light up Seattle until 2014, but the outfit's just revealed what it aims to charge for its blisteringly-fast internet service. Folks who are content with the bare minimum can pay a $350 installation fee and net 5Mbps up and 1Mbps down at no charge for 60 months, and can then convert to $10 each month for 10Mbps both ways. With a one-year contract, residents of The Emerald City can avoid the setup charge and score 100Mbps down and 100Mbps up for a $45 monthly bill. If pure speed is your prime directive, 1Gbps up and down will be available for $80 per month, and with no cash put towards installation. Aching to hook up to the web at those eye-watering speeds? You'll have to live in Seattle's West Campus District, First Hill, Capitol Hill or Central Area neighborhoods, as they'll be the first connected to Gigabit Squared's pipes. There's no sign-up process just yet, but it's scheduled to go live next month. Update: We've corrected the story to reflect that the free plan can be converted to a $10 monthly plan after 60 months, which boosts speeds to 10Mbps up and down. [Image credit: Eli Duke, Flickr]
Sonic.net starts trial of 1Gbps fiber-to-the-home internet in California, asks just $70
You'll be forgiven for not being intimately familiar with Californian ISP Sonic.net, though we get the feeling you'll also wish it operated a little closer to your abode by the time you've finished reading this. You see, Sonic has always dabbled in the business of high-speed, low-price internet connectivity, and now it's going for the jugular with a new fiber-to-the-home service, which costs just $69.95 a month, reaches speeds up to 1Gbps, and bundles in two phone lines and unlimited long distance calling. Just for reference, Comcast's "Extreme" 105Mbps connection costs $105 a pop when taken as part of a bundle, whereas Sonic's budget menu option will net you a 100Mbps line for $39.95 (plus a phone line with unlimited calls). Understandably, Sonic's grand plan is starting out small, with a trial in Sebastopol spanning 700 households, but provided the company doesn't go bust by giving people so much for so little, expansion to bigger cities will follow, with San Francisco and Santa Rosa being the prime candidates. And just in case you're questioning Sonic's credentials, Google's chosen the ISP to manage its gigabit fiber network at Stanford University, and who knows ultrafast broadband better than Google? [Thanks, Roland]
Fujitsu to build 1Gbps fiber optic broadband network in the UK, but needs BT to play fair first
Good news for anyone feeling left behind by the broadband revolution just because of their post code: Fujitsu has just announced a joint venture to deliver fiber optic connectivity to neglected rural homes in the UK. Built on hardware provided by Cisco and supported by Virgin Media and TalkTalk, this network will focus on channeling fiber directly to the home, which is said to provide symmetrical 1Gbps bandwidth with up to 10Gbps speeds considered possible down the line. Best news of all, perhaps, is that the cabling will be available on a wholesale basis to all ISPs, not just the ones involved in the project, so the UK may finally get a decent taste of what competition in the internet service space feels like. Alas, there's a key line in the press release that notes the new venture is dependent on BT providing "access to its underground ducts and telegraph poles on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms," which it apparently isn't doing at the moment. Ah well, we're sure they'll sort things out like the mature professionals that they are. Full PR after the break.
Verizon shelves plans for future FiOS rollouts, relocations to Massachusetts set to boom
'Tis fun while it lasted, yeah? Verizon's FiOS has provided a much-wanted (or much-needed, some would argue) sliver of competition in markets that were previously offered just one or two ISP options, and the wicked fast speeds available through the fiber-based service were just one big stream of cherries-on-top. We've personally noticed that the company has slowed down the rate at which it blasts out releases trumpeting new FiOS and FiOS TV markets, and now we know why: an Associated Press report notes that the operator has canned all public plans about expanding its FTTH home network, though it will continue to build-out where it had previously announced service (Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia, namely). Of course, Verizon never stated that it would be making FiOS a nationwide service, but after hitting at least some sections of 18 states, we had high hopes that it would keep on keepin' on. Unfortunately, it looks like you'll be forced to move to FiOS-heavy Massachusetts, or simply gaze endlessly from your apartment window knowing that you'll never feel the warm glow of a FiOS wire. Sniffle.
Google's 1Gbps broadband offer brings out the crazy in municipal officers around the States (video)
You'll be aware by now that Google's cooking up an experimental high speed broadband network, which is currently in the process of collecting applications and nominations from interested communities. Given the limited coverage planned -- anywhere between 50,000 and 500,000 people -- there's understandably a lot of competition to get your small town on Google's radar, and city officials all around the USA have been doing their utmost to grab some publicity for their locale. Duluth mayor Don Ness can be seen above taking a dip in Minnesota's icy Lake Superior (with his unfortunate underling Richard Brown taking a fish to the face), while others have held parades, danced, invented a "Google Fiber" flavor of ice cream, and even swam with sharks for the sake of that precious fiber. Duluth, however, is the only place officially endorsed by a senator, and you can see Al Franken promote the city's virtues on video after the break. [Thanks, b3ast] Update: We've now also got video of the actual dip in the water, slide past the break to see it [Thanks, TheLostSwede].
Seattle eager for Google fiber, other cities apt to fall in line
Talk about rapid response. Just a day or so after Google blew a few minds by announcing its plans to serve 1Gbps internet to a select group of communities, Seattle mayor Mike McGinn has come forward and confessed that the Emerald City is ready to accept said offer. 'Course, we shouldn't be shocked to hear that one of the most educated and wealthy cities in North America -- as well as (almost) being home to Microsoft -- is up for a little fiber action, but it's certainly interesting to see just how willing the local government is to share its resources with Gmail's creator. We're guessing that other tech-savvy cities throughout the US will be jumping in line as well, so if you'd like to be one of the first, now might be a fantastic time to ping your own mayor and get him / her on the ball.
Verizon unveils new FiOS bundles with symmetrical 35Mbps pipes, heftier ETFs
As expected, Verizon is rolling out a new line of FiOS bundles for this perennially broadband-starved nation, and bumping up its early termination fees in the process. The traditional ETF for the installation-heavy service has been at $179, but now it's rocketing to as high as $360 to break from these fur-lined shackles. The new bundles of course don't skimp on the goodies, particularly with the 35Mbps up / 35Mbps down symmetrical service that should be a boon to HD video chats, big torrents and medium-sized torrents. For a limited time you can get into the "Prime" triple-play bundle (TV, internet, phone) for $90 a month, though that price will bump up to $110 a month after a year. Sweet enough to calm your fears about a $360 early cancellation penalty? Verizon sure seems to hope so -- no matter what sort of condescending looks the FCC shoots its way.
Fiber in the home thanks to Tennessee's Tenvera
Tennessee isn't exactly known for being the most wired place in the world, but an 18-month startup from Franklin, Tennessee -- a small wealthy town 20 miles south of Nashville (between Memphis and Knoxville) -- may soon change that. This fall, Tenvera will release its fiber in the home (FITH) product, called "System 5" (compare that to Category 5), which will be shown off at the CEDIA conference in Denver in a few weeks. This new technology blows current copper wiring out of the water and according to the company's COO, Tim Akers, will provide "virtually unlimited bandwidth" within new homes. FITH takes over where fiber to the home stops, and brings immense speed to your home's data infrastructure. System 5 is currently being installed in a housing development in a neighboring town, and promises to replace data and phone lines with FITH lines. Akers also told The Tennessean that a FITH outlet can be changed to accomodate phone or data via the quick swap of an outlet card, well after the home has been built. Tenvera is currently pricing its product at two to three percent of the total building cost of a home, or about $12,000 for a $400,000 home. Now how do we get this in the rest of the country?[Via Talkabout:CEDIA]
