Google launching 1Gbps ISP service

[jalaffa]

Imagine sitting in a rural health clinic, streaming three-dimensional medical imaging over the web and discussing a unique condition with a specialist in New York. Or downloading a high-definition, full-length feature film in less than five minutes. Or collaborating with classmates around the world while watching live 3-D video of a university lecture. Universal, ultra high-speed Internet access will make all this and more possible. We've urged the FCC to look at new and creative ways to get there in its National Broadband Plan – and today we're announcing an experiment of our own.

We're planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We'll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

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[DKT27]

That's great. So bad it would only be introduced in US for trial at first. :(

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Google to test ultrafast broadband to the home

Google, never satisfied with the pace of change, plans a test that will provide 50,000 to 500,000 people with fiber-optic broadband Internet access with a network speed of a gigabit per second starting as soon as this year.

"We're planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We'll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections," Google product managers Minnie Ingersoll and James Kelly said in a blog post Wednesday. "Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better and faster for everyone."

The company plans to use the experiment to test new ways to build fiber networks and to see what applications programmers can write. And Chief Executive Eric Schmidt called for better Internet access in the United States in a Washington Post op-ed Wednesday, calling it a matter of national competitiveness.

"High-speed Internet access must be much more widely available. Broadband is a major driver of new jobs and businesses, yet we rank only 15th in the world for access. More government support for broadband remains critical," Schmidt said.

Google suggested trials of gigabit-per-second Net access in comments to the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan, but then realized Google itself could be the catalyst, said Richard Whitt, Google's Washington, D.C., telecom and media counsel.

"As we thought more," Whitt said, "we realized we could leave this to the government, but we're fortunate to have some resources. Why don't we try this ourselves and make it a reality as a new testbed approach?"

Google, whose profits come from ads on its search engine, has been pushing for better Internet access for years. It's sought to catalyze next-generation wireless networking by investing in Clearwire, encourage Wi-Fi in airports and airplanes, open up use of "white space" in U.S. radio spectrum, and foster Net access for billions of people who lack it.

Google will offer the broadband access "at competitive prices," Kelly said in a YouTube video about the project.

One can imagine some angst at companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast, which today offer broadband speeds in the United States that typically are in the range of 1 to 10 megabits per second, though 100Mbps rates are in the offing. However, these companies may find a place in the Google plan, which will give users "the choice of multiple service providers."

Details remain muddy about how exactly middlemen or partners will be involved, but here's what Google had to say about the partnership matter in a statement:

We will allow third-parties to offer their own Internet access services, or other services, using our network. We believe this approach will maximize user choice as well as spur greater innovation and competition. Most providers in Europe and many places elsewhere in the world operate open access networks. It will be open to any service provider, including incumbents and new entrants. "Open" means open.

As part of the planned trial, Google will offer competitively priced, high-speed Internet access service to residents of the chosen communities. In addition, we will allow third parties to offer their own Internet access services, or other data services, on our open network. It's too early to say how much we will charge for access to our network. We plan to set prices that are fair and competitive.

Whitt said he alerted his peers at Internet service providers AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Cox Communications, Qwest, and Time Warner about Google's plan shortly after Google published its plan in the public blog. The purpose of the e-mail was "to let them know this is a testbed approach. Nothing here is intended to supplant what they do in the market."

He also went out of his way to praise Verizon's Fios fiber-optic broadband service and said Google is open to working with Internet service providers. "We are prepared to act as the ISP to the end user, but we're also very open to working with the folks who want to be the ISP, like Earthlink or AOL. We're happy to work with them," Whitt said.

Still, it's easy to imagine displeasure as these companies, already squabbling with Google over Net neutrality matters, reckon with a rival that makes their efforts at innovation look a generation behind.

"As with some of the things that Google has done in the wireless space, this 'experiment' could be Google's way of pushing the telcos to more rapidly increase their own fiber deployments," said Ben Schachter, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, in a research note. He estimates the project will cost Google between $60 million and $1.6 billion.

Other Google services stand to gain from faster Net speeds. For example, high-definition video could help attract studios and make YouTube a pay-per-view competitor to Netflix and cable TV. Or Chrome OS, with its Web-based applications, could become a more responsive competitor to traditional operating systems. Google Voice, which is being augmented with voice-over-IP service, could become more compelling.

Note that phone and cable companies already offer some of those services through subscriptions that elevate them from being mere "dump pipe" providers of network access.

But boosting Google services is not the objective of the testbed, Whitt said. "The idea is not about pushing our own products and services. It's about creating next-generation products and technologies and applications and doing it an open and robust manner," he said.

Google is looking for community partners--states, counties, cities--for the project, with a March 26 deadline for getting in touch. Google's selections will be announced later this year.

"Then, if all things come together, we'd like to begin providing service toward the end of the year," Whitt said.

The work will involve more than just the "last mile" of net access, he said.

"We're building in very high capacity fiber to the homes. Beyond that, we have to build out the middle mile. That's got to be part of the whole network build," he said. "There are challenges in other parts of the network and we hope to tackle those at the same time."

And the next-generation Net addressing system, Internet Protocol version 6, could be part of the plan, too.

"Vint Cerf is pushing IPv6," Whitt said, referring to the Internet pioneer who's now Google's chief Internet evangelist. "My guess is he won't allow us to get away with running a network that doesn't have some IPv6 capabilities in there."

Source - CNET

[karachidude]

only in the US for know :(

[shought]

Do you think I could make them believe the Netherlands is actually an overseas US state?

[DKT27]

Don't know. Try to fool them by behaving like an American. :P

[Toshiro]

Do you think I could make them believe the Netherlands is actually an overseas US state?

With your way of talking you could convince them that China is their first state :ph34r:

[deadmnwlkn]

This is a great first step soon all major ISP will have to step up or be knoked out. God Save Google!

[implague]

u were wrong may god bless Google and save other ISP's :lol:

[DKT27]

Oh well it's never gonna reach my country. Even if it does, it would be 50 times more expensive than what people will pay for it in US. -_-

[implague]

lets make a contro

[Sl@pSh0ck™]

On the contrary, this might benefit us all in the long run, even if this service would only be available in the US :dance2:

[DKT27]

True. But the benefit would only be like a dwarf ant in a big foot world as far as India is concerned. :(

[implague]

well if this is going to happen in US very soon it ll b in INDIA cause INDIA is growing market and google definetly dont like to loose this opprtunity well point taken that will b very xpensive related to the us

[DKT27]

Let see. Our ISPs have never cared for us. Hope Google does anything good here. :unsure:

[HX1]

The only thing I get sick of is having a better tech available and having companies milk people dry with an inferior product.. for 20-30 years.. that is what pisses me off about progress itself.. Fiber Optics has been around and implemented in many ways for well over 15 years now.. even in rural areas.. There is no reason that it should take this long for services to become available and affordable.

When I turn this over in my head I wonder what really is driving progress forward and where is this things going wrong.. I know this is supposed to be good news... but the connected psychological just pisses me off.. Right now it would cost me between $400 - 800 a month for a 100 MB/s T1 connected network.. ( which is a tenth of what they are taking about being available now.. )

I dunno.. It would be nice.. very nice..

[Bizarre™]

I wish Google extends the service to other countries :D

[marshall39]

Coming soon Google Coffee,Google TV and Google Cars :lol:

[shought]

Do you think I could make them believe the Netherlands is actually an overseas US state?

With your way of talking you could convince them that China is their first state :ph34r:

But, but, it is... Isn't it?

[DKT27]

Coming soon Google Coffee,Google TV and Google Cars :lol:

Google Goggles, Google Anti-Virus. :blink:

[DKT27]

Is Google a wolf in sheep's clothing to ISPs?

Is Google a friend or foe to Internet service providers? It's a question many broadband providers are likely asking themselves on Wednesday, after Google's announcement that it will build fiber networks in communities across the United States to test new broadband services and capabilities.

Google says the new ultrahigh-speed fiber networks it plans to build will be used as a test bed. But some broadband providers are likely suspicious of Google, as the Internet search giant once again creeps onto their turf.

Google says it does not want to get into the ISP business.

Its announcement, Google said it plans to work with local and state governments to build fiber-based networks that will serve between 50,000 and 500,000 people with broadband service, offering speeds of at least 1 gigabit per second. Few details about the project are available. But a Google representative said the fiber-based networks are similar to what Google is doing with the Wi-Fi network it has built in Mountain View, Calif.

That network, which went live in 2006, provides free Internet access, with speeds up to 1 megabit per second over Wi-Fi.

"The goal is to work with interested communities, and to experiment and learn ways to make broadband better, faster, and more accessible," the representative said in an e-mail. "We will welcome other providers to offer services over our open network. And we hope to make public what we learn through this experiment so that other providers can benefit."

In an interview with The New York Times, Richard S. Whitt, Google's Washington, D.C., telecommunications and media counsel, denied that Google is trying to compete with Internet service providers. Instead, he said Google merely pushing the industry to offer faster Internet service at a lower cost.

"We are not getting into the ISP or broadband business," the newspaper quoted him as saying. "This is a business model nudge and an innovation nudge."

Clearly, Google has a vested interest in ensuring that more people get access to broadband at a low cost and at faster speeds. The search engine giant makes money through advertising. It turns clicks and page views into money by providing advertisers an audience for their products and services. The more people who are able to access Google's search engine, e-mail, maps, and other applications, the more money the company makes.

When Google first announced that it would launch the free Wi-Fi network in Mountain View, many people in the industry speculated that Google would try to become a competitor to wireless operators. The same fears were echoed when Google said it would partner with EarthLink to build the citywide Wi-Fi network in San Francisco. And many people feared that Google was trying to get into the wireless business in 2007, when it bid on wireless spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission's 700MHz spectrum auction.

So far, Google hasn't become a service provider. In fact, the company admitted after the spectrum auction that it didn't want to own the spectrum; it bid on it merely because it wanted to ensure that a minimum price would be reached so that open Internet rules on those licenses would go into effect.

Google's latest move, likewise, may be its way of pushing the broadband industry to deploy more fiber and invest more in networking infrastructure.

"As with some of the things that Google has done in the wireless space, this 'experiment' could be Google's way of pushing the telcos to more rapidly increase their own fiber deployments," Benjamin Schachter, an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech, said in a research note.

For now, broadband providers aren't reacting much publicly. Most broadband providers declined to comment. But Verizon Communications, which has spent billions of dollars on its own fiber-to-the-home network, welcomed Google to the table.

"The Internet ecosystem is dynamic and competitive, and it's delivering great benefits to consumers," the company said in a statement. "Google's expansion of its networks to enter the access market is another new paragraph in this exciting story."

The National Cable Association simply said, "We look forward to learning more about Google's broadband experiment in the handful of trial locations they are planning."

People in Washington wonder if Google's move is political. The company is currently lobbying the FCC to adopt stricter Net neutrality regulation. The FCC closed its public-comment period on the new regulation last month. It's now working on drafting the exact language of this regulation.

At the same time, an FCC task force is also developing a nationwide broadband policy, which it will deliver to Congress next month. The plan will provide policy recommendations to Congress to help get broadband access to every American.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski applauded Google's announcement.

"Big broadband creates big opportunities," he said in a statement. "This significant trial will provide an American test bed for the next generation of innovative, high-speed Internet apps, devices, and services."

On the same day that the company announced its fiber test bed, Google CEO Eric Schmidt talked about the nation's need for better Internet access in a Washington Post op-ed, calling it a matter of national competitiveness.

"High-speed Internet access must be much more widely available. Broadband is a major driver of new jobs and businesses, yet we rank only 15th in the world for access. More government support for broadband remains critical," Schmidt said.

Still, broadband providers have reason to question Google's motives and its future plans. Google's citywide Wi-Fi project with EarthLink in San Francisco didn't fail because of Google. It failed because it lost the support of city politicians and EarthLink. EarthLink disbanded its entire citywide business unit and sold all of its citywide Wi-Fi assets.

Google's own investments also indicate that the company is interested in alternative broadband networks. A prime example of this is its investment in Clearwire, a company building a nationwide 4G wireless network. This company is a direct competitor to AT&T and Verizon, which offer fixed-line and wireless broadband services.

Comcast and Time Warner Cable are partners with Google in the Clearwire venture. But these partners could one day turn into competitors, if Google decided to sell or resell 4G wireless service, along with a fiber service to homes and businesses in Comcast or Time Warner Cable territories.

Even if Google isn't planning to compete with broadband providers in the near future, it recognizes that network operators may still feel threatened. This could be why the company has hired Jim Baller, president of The Baller Herbst Law Group, as a consultant. Baller, who is working with Google on this project, has been battling incumbent broadband providers for more than a decade, helping municipalities develop projects to build-fiber-to-the home networks in their communities.

Incumbent phone companies and cable operators have lobbied state governments to pass laws to stop these deployments. Some companies, such as Qwest Communications International and BellSouth, which is now owned by AT&T, actually sued municipalities to stop some projects. Baller has been involved in many of these cases, defending municipal clients against phone companies and cable operators.

In some instances, the incumbent service providers have been successful. But in other instances, they have not. A handful of municipally owned fiber networks around the country have won their battles with incumbent network operators, including one in Lafayette, La., and another high-profile network called Utopia, which connects several communities in Utah. With new federal funding pouring into communities as a result of President Obama's stimulus package, a new wave of projects is emerging.

Tensions between broadband service providers and Google already exists, despite how Google spins its intentions for its latest project. AT&T, in particular, has gone on the attack, accusing Google in an FCC filing last year of trying to skirt the very Net neutrality principles Google has promoted.

For now, it's too early to say whether Google will eventually be a friend or foe to Internet service providers. But one thing is clear: broadband providers will be keeping a close eye on Google.

Source - CNET

[DreamHaters]

Google is taking over the world!

Next they will have a bloody anti virus.

[Bizarre™]

@DreamHaters:

It's likely to happen sometime in the future :D

[DKT27]

Google Security Suite: Works best when using with Google Search with Google Chrome, on Google Chrome OS, on Google Nexus One, with 1Gbps Google Connection, with Google DNS, used by Google Robots. :lol: