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Google Fiber Cutting Jobs and Halting Rollout

nytimes.com

291–300 of 382 posts

Re: Google Fiber Cutting Jobs and Halting Rollout

#291
post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US has a corruption problem.

In general, democracies have corruption problems, the US doesn't seem any worse than the median.

I would go even farther and assert that the US is much less corrupt than the vast majority of democracies in the world.

Re: Google Fiber Cutting Jobs and Halting Rollout

#292
post #13

Well google announced they were exploring a fiber rollout in Chicago. Now both AT&T along with Time Warner Cable have 1G service throughout parts of the city. Alternatively, one can look at this not as a failure, but as a success. The point of Google fiber was to force carriers to get faster internet to everyone. It appears that it has been working. This benefits google directly as their properties such as Youtube ca…

That is the point of why I said a while back, that Google should have purchased TWC. Instant large mostly profitable business with existing customers in a large number of markets.

Then they could have invested another 1-2B (given how little it has cost TWC to roll out faster speeds in cities that google came into) to spit some nodes and install faster backends links. That would have provided 1GB speeds to a much larger swath of people than they are managing to do with their fiber rollout. Then in a few years when they decide they don't want to be in the infrastructure business they could sell it to someone else. But, in the process they would have proven to everyone that the existing cable/telephone monopolies are doing a huge disservice to their customers and the country.

Re: Google Fiber Cutting Jobs and Halting Rollout

#293

That sucks for citizens of the US. I think the Swedish (Nordic?) model for bringing internet connectivity to it's citizens is superior. The municipalities own (most of) the networks and all the fiber cables, letting companies use them for a small(ish) fee. These companies later sell it to customers. This help people to get the best deals and ensure that the networks are continually upgraded. For example, I have 250/1…

Fact check.... I spent nearly a month in Stockholm in July. Stayed with friends and none of them got close to 1Gbps. In-fact speeds were similar to mine here in San Francisco (50 - 100Mbps).

Re: Google Fiber Cutting Jobs and Halting Rollout

#295
post #13

Well google announced they were exploring a fiber rollout in Chicago. Now both AT&T along with Time Warner Cable have 1G service throughout parts of the city. Alternatively, one can look at this not as a failure, but as a success. The point of Google fiber was to force carriers to get faster internet to everyone. It appears that it has been working. This benefits google directly as their properties such as Youtube ca…

Chicago is 1% of the country.

I live in the Bay Area (Berkeley). My only choice above 20mbits is Comcast. AT&T's lines near me are old, I can get a max of 18mbits with them; Sonic says I can get about 12. I own my own home, so I can't get Webpass. LMI and the other local ISPs offer things like 3mbps for $90.

I have literally zero reasonable choice other than Comcast.

I'd happily pay double what Google charges for Fiber for a quarter of the speed they offer. I just want off Comcast. Google shuttering Fiber is the last hope I have. I don't think I'll have any other choice for at least a decade.

Re: Google Fiber Cutting Jobs and Halting Rollout

#296

GF has been tearing up our neighborhood this week and last laying cable (I'm in Chapel Hill). AT&T did the same about 6 months back. I was holding out for Google, but this makes me think even when they get it up and running, the support will be nonexistent. So maybe better to go with the devil we know (we already have AT&T U-Verse, just not gigabit). At least they lasted long enough to force AT&T's hand...

Honestly. If GF dies you can still take AT&T. Therefore I would risk it if I were you.

Re: Google Fiber Cutting Jobs and Halting Rollout

#297
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A more reasonable comparison would be between Sweden and ... New Jersey Except that Sweden is 20 times larger than New Jersey in area. The continental US is 18 times larger than Sweden, so it is actually a better (if terrible) comparison geographically. Maybe in your argument you should compare Sweden with Michigan, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, or Minnesota instead of New Jersey, which each have at leas…

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=ratio+of+land+area+of+...

Ah yes, the land area would be a better comparison than total area.

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=ratio+of+land+area+of+...

Re: Google Fiber Cutting Jobs and Halting Rollout

#298
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have to literally dig up the street? If so, why?

To put the fiber in the ground. There are pieces of conduit that we run fiber through into your building. Inside your building there's a fiber termination point that hands off to ethernet. On the other end is a repeater/node that boosts the signal from the other termination point back in the DC.

I'm not expert on this, but I think that the use of a horizontal drill is more common.

Check out this horizontal drill: http://www.ballantineinc.com/sites/default/files/img/Copy%20...

See this diagram for how they're used: http://www.ajvac.ca/images/directional%20drill%20diag2.jpg

Re: Google Fiber Cutting Jobs and Halting Rollout

#299
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really I'm mostly bitter because right now I'm paying $57/mo for 12 Mbps U-Verse in Mountain View. I could pay $70/mo to switch to either 50 Mbps Sonic (currently considering) or 100 Mbps Xfinity (really don't want to deal with Comcast customer service). Aside from Sonic, these all come with a data cap. I was really looking forward to giving Google $70/mo for 1 Gbps or whatever they were offering, and not having a da…

I have had Comcast for 7 years, dealt with their customer service <5 times.

I must be alone in that I've never had a bad customer service experience with Comcast. They've always been able to resolve problems, and service outages in my area are extremely rare. My only beef is with the price I'm paying (around $130 for 50MBps + basic TV), but their Internet service so far has been stellar. They were also one of the first major US ISPs to take IPV6 seriously and roll out native support.

Re: Google Fiber Cutting Jobs and Halting Rollout

#300
post #97

Forgive me if I'm incorrect... The way I understand it is that they are halting planning in cities that they marked as potential locations, but that does not mean they are discontinuing the roll out and service in cities that are already in progress. For example in Nashville, they have been trying to roll out fiber in Nashville for over a year now but have only been able to install on less than a dozen utility poles…

I live in KC and they are still rolling out here. Next phase ends Nov 3. I assume they are I'll keep rolling out in the metros they are already in as the leg work is done for the most part.

I am in Atlanta and we are scheduled for it on Dec 15 2016! If there is a god, don't stop now!!!!
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