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Think big with a gig: Our experimental fiber network

googleblog.blogspot.com

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Re: Think big with a gig: Our experimental fiber network

#151

Post by mrkurt »

wmf wrote: post #95
mrkurt wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The variable cost of selling broadband is extremely low.

The problem isn't the variable cost; it's the $2,000 truck roll per customer.

They wouldn't be selling "at a loss" based on fixed costs. They'll eventually recoup those somehow, much like AT&T or Comcast or anyone else will. Comcast may hope you'll buy On Demand movies while Google might settle for more Youtube views.

Is it selling at a loss if I pay someone $100k to write software and then sell it for $15/pop?

Re: Think big with a gig: Our experimental fiber network

#152

Post by nollidge »

nollidge wrote: post #88
khafra wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we've got 10 times the land mass and 15 times the population, and rolling out speedy broadband is more cost-effective given greater population density, doesn't that mean the US should be faster and cheaper than Scandinavia, not slower and more expensive ?

Perhaps I'm not thinking about this clearly, but I'm figuring that greater population density makes it less cost-effective because you have more endpoints, and therefore need more network branching, more wires, more intermediate nodes, more digging, and more time per square km .

Sorry to get meta now, but I think this is why downvoting is a bad idea. You're discouraging me (and others) from working through any confusion they might have.
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