Google Fiber

[MachineGhost]

So the next batch of cities being constructed for fiber after Austin, Kansas City and Provo are Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham.  Other than Austin which is a liberal town in a conservative state, what's with the over emphasis on the conservative West/South???  Too much NIMBY and crony capitalism to fight in liberal (sub)urban metro areas???

On the road map is Phoenix, San Jose, San Antonio, Portland and Salt Lake City.

Well, at least people of color can't complain about being left out!

None of these places are an inducement for me to move out of CA yet.  I'll have to reconsider when Portland is up and running. 

What is everyone else thinking about this?

[Pointedstick]

It's all based on regulatory burdens. Since Google can do this anywhere they like, they have a strong incentive to start with cities that actually want them there and will work with them rather than dragging them through endless red tape, graft, and extortion.

[dualstow]

You're in California? I'm jealous! Not only am I in the snowy northeast, but I am stuck with Crumbcast. Had a taste of Verizon FiOS while we were in a new apartment building and now I miss it dearly.

The main problem is that I have been talking to customer service at least once every two weeks, and nearly every week. I would take slower speeds if I didn't have to call or chat every week to complain, "The phone service still isn't working" or "You're billing me for new equipment charges even though you sent no new equipment" or "that free year of HBO you promised me is now on my bill, even though I have you take it off every time all call." <-- all real complaints.

I wonder what Google Fiber's service will be like.

None of these places are an inducement for me to move out of CA yet.

[Pointedstick]

Don't be too envious of CA. Large parts of it are Comcast monopoly territory. When I was living in the Bay Area, I was stuck with Comcast for years because they were the only high-speed internet option. There wasn't even any fast DSL, let alone fiber. It was dial-up, 1.5mbps DSL, or Comcast.

[dualstow]

Oh yeah, I didn't elaborate, but I love California for other reasons. I wandered in San Francisco for 40 days and 40 nights, and have friends in other parts. I am also that rare bird that loves Los Angeles (although I admit I couldn't live there without better transportation).

Back on topic, I don't see Google Fiber coming to the northeast anytime soon.

[dragoncar]

Don't be too envious of CA. Large parts of it are Comcast monopoly territory. When I was living in the Bay Area, I was stuck with Comcast for years because they were the only high-speed internet option. There wasn't even any fast DSL, let alone fiber. It was dial-up, 1.5mbps DSL, or Comcast.

I don't even care about 100 mbps speeds.  I just want a choice of providers (i.e. not Comcast)

[WiseOne]

On the theory that someone is always worse off than you, here's a choice little tidbit about your favorite cable company:

http://www.wired.com/2015/01/comcast-re ... cel-cable/

No crumbcast here in NYC, but we are blessed with Time Warner Cable.  They had a habit of increasing my internet bill every few months while claiming they hadn't increased cable bills in more than a year.  That's because they kept making up new fees instead.  I switched to RCN.

Praying for google fiber to hurry up and get here.  Per their website, they're going with smaller cities to start with.  I'm pretty sure NYC will be the project from hell.

[Libertarian666]

People complaining about actual internet service never cease to amaze me.
We pay $90/month for about 3 Mb/sec, capped at 60 GB/month, and are glad to have it. Our previous service was uncapped but rarely got above 1 Mb/sec and often stalled out completely.
We may have to move to a city to get real service.

[dualstow]

People complaining about actual internet service never cease to amaze me.
We pay $90/month for about 3 Mb/sec,
...

Everything is relative.
My wife and I always keep perspective lest someone shout "hashtag firstworldproblem" in our faces, but that only goes so far when  you're online or on the phone w/ customer service all the time.

[Tyler]

Still waiting patiently for Google Fiber to make it up to my end of Austin.  The good news is that even if they don't, the competition has already improved the costs and speeds from the other players in town.