Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

#101

Post by variaga » Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 12:50 AM UTC

sounds wrote: post #2

A common complaint I hear at defcon and other cons in vegas is that the hotel internet is terrible. Hopefully good internet service comes as a result of this?

I can think of two reasons why it wouldn't

(benign) peak-to-average problem - I'll go ahead and just assume that defcon attendees use a lot more internet bandwidth than the average Vegas-goer, so during defcon the network is overwhelmed, but the rest of the year the capacity is adequate. Upgrading the links to satisfy the peak (defcon) traffic load costs the casinos significant money, but gives minuscule benefit since the rest of the year they only need to support the much lower average load.

(malign) the casinos don't actually want you to have good internet because they don't want you staying in your room internetting - they want you down on the floor gambling. Other non-gambling amenities (shows, restaurants, etc.) are mostly time limited - you only spend so much time eating, and shows are only a couple hours each - and can be a differentiator that draws people to a specific casino (because of specific food/entertainment preferences). Those people then spend the rest of the day gambling at that casino.

"Better" internet it's actually a negative differentiator - people who want to spend all their time infinite-scrolling will gamble less, so casinos don't want to attract them in the first place.

Re: Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

#102

Post by ehsankia » Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 12:50 AM UTC

MostlyStable wrote: post #37

rconti wrote: post #7

> GFiber service will be available in parts of the metro area later this year. Nevada residents and business owners will be able to choose between Google Fiber’s plans with prices that haven’t changed since 2012 and speeds up to 8 gig. The author of the press release is under the mistaken belief that unchanged broadband pricing is a good thing. From the linked price page: 1gig: $70/mo 2gig: $100/mo 5gig: $125/mo 8 gi…

Meanwhile, I'm paying 120/month for 150MB down, 75 up to my rural telco-op, and compared to the satellite internet I had before, I'm happy to be paying it.

That's rural life. I'm downtown in one a big Canadian city, and the best I can get is 400 down and 10 up for ~100$/month. You're getting better up than me, and I'm literally at the core of a major city.

Re: Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

#103

Post by randmeerkat » Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 12:50 AM UTC

kernal wrote: post #65

randmeerkat wrote: post #45

It’s Google, it’ll be shut down a week after the fiber goes live.

It started in 2010. How much longer should we wait for your prediction to come true?

> It started in 2010. How much longer should we wait for your prediction to come true?

Google has already actively started soliciting outside investors to spin off Google Fiber. Don't hold your breath. Nothing escapes the Google Graveyard, its gravitational mass is simply too large.

"GFiber has already hired an investment bank to start the process of selling equity in the company, according to a source close to Alphabet's efforts. The future goal is for GFiber to be independent from Alphabet, the source said on condition of anonymity."

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/alphabet-is-s...

Re: Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

#104

Post by znkynz » Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 12:55 AM UTC

ErrantX wrote: post #19

rconti wrote: post #7

> GFiber service will be available in parts of the metro area later this year. Nevada residents and business owners will be able to choose between Google Fiber’s plans with prices that haven’t changed since 2012 and speeds up to 8 gig. The author of the press release is under the mistaken belief that unchanged broadband pricing is a good thing. From the linked price page: 1gig: $70/mo 2gig: $100/mo 5gig: $125/mo 8 gi…

Just for a global comparison. Fibre is pretty ubiquitous in the UK but very little over 1G, and not usually symmetrical. Most top end packages are 1G and go for between $45-70 depending on the reseller. But you can get it pretty much anywhere that qualifies as a decent sized town. (We do have close-to a monopoly on the backbone, which is good for coverage but bad for speeds, looks like they are finally starting to ro…

Fibre in NZ - 1Gbps $55USD 2Gbps $74USD 4Gbps $82USD

Re: Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

#105

Post by ddcc7 » Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 12:57 AM UTC

advarkcal wrote: post #83

arebop wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people lately are complaining about a lack of price stability, it seems like a good angle. Also as an SF resident with no realistic alternative to Comcast cable, I'd appreciate a provider who didn't try to sneak price increases onto my bill a couple of times a year. In a healthy market I wouldn't expect big margins for sellers, but honestly if someone's making insane profits by selling me a product or servic…

Have you considered Monkeybrains? For the price the service is fantastic, and with some of their new upgrades speeds are pretty good for most of SF. Caveat: I work from home so I keep my comcast subscription as a backup and have a router with automatic failover. I would say this is not worth it for most people and just Monkeybrains is sufficent.

I have the same issue, I'm in an area with underground utilities so Sonic isn't an option, it's just Comcast or Monkeybrains. But the problem with Monkeybrains is that they had me behind a IPv4 NAT with no IPv6, and when I asked them to change that, I ended up with very bad packet loss that their technical support couldn't resolve.

Re: Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

#106

Post by lazycouchpotato » Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 1:01 AM UTC

kbolino wrote: post #72

lazycouchpotato wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Xfinity hasn't gotten that notice apparently. They offer 1 Gbps download in my area with 20 Mbps upload. And it comes with a 1.2 TB limit. EDIT: I'm wrong. The Xfinity in my area is on cable.

AFAIK Xfinity (Comcast) is not deploying FTTP anywhere. It's a cable network on DOCSIS. The fiber usually stops at the CMTS which is far away from the home; one CMTS serves multiple neighborhoods if not the entire town.

Took another look at the connection info and yeah you're right. The Xfinity connection in my area is cable. Not sure why I thought it was fiber.

Thanks for the correction.

Re: Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

#107

Post by bhaney » Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 1:05 AM UTC

yegle wrote: post #69

smitelli wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In RTP NC, GFiber's $70 pricing beats equivalent speed plans from the other two symmetric fiber providers in the area, AT&T and Spectrum (if you live on the right streets). It's not _dirt_ cheap, but it's the cheapest we can get. (Oh, also if you request a /48 IPv6 prefix, you'll get it. Never had that work on AT&T's $90.75-after-fees plan.)

Huh I was able to get a /60 ipv6 prefix from my ATT fiber just fine, and it has been available since circa 2016.

Now you just need 4095 more /60s and you'll have that /48

Re: Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

#108

Post by kalleboo » Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 1:11 AM UTC

ErrantX wrote: post #19

rconti wrote: post #7

> GFiber service will be available in parts of the metro area later this year. Nevada residents and business owners will be able to choose between Google Fiber’s plans with prices that haven’t changed since 2012 and speeds up to 8 gig. The author of the press release is under the mistaken belief that unchanged broadband pricing is a good thing. From the linked price page: 1gig: $70/mo 2gig: $100/mo 5gig: $125/mo 8 gi…

Just for a global comparison. Fibre is pretty ubiquitous in the UK but very little over 1G, and not usually symmetrical. Most top end packages are 1G and go for between $45-70 depending on the reseller. But you can get it pretty much anywhere that qualifies as a decent sized town. (We do have close-to a monopoly on the backbone, which is good for coverage but bad for speeds, looks like they are finally starting to ro…

Another global comparison point - in Japan, 1 Gbps fiber is available pretty much nationwide (I just checked the address of my in-laws' rural ancestral home in the middle of the rice fields)

10 Gbps is available in increasingly smaller cities (e.g. it was recently made available in a city of 100,000 near me).

Both priced at about $30/mo

Re: Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

#109

Post by fooker » Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 1:21 AM UTC

xzjis wrote: post #80

rconti wrote: post #7

> GFiber service will be available in parts of the metro area later this year. Nevada residents and business owners will be able to choose between Google Fiber’s plans with prices that haven’t changed since 2012 and speeds up to 8 gig. The author of the press release is under the mistaken belief that unchanged broadband pricing is a good thing. From the linked price page: 1gig: $70/mo 2gig: $100/mo 5gig: $125/mo 8 gi…

Wait, an optical fiber is that expensive in the USA? In France, the price for a symetrical 8 Gbit/s optical fiber is 50€/month (about $52) at the two fastest and most expensive companies! It's also 50€/month for professionals.

Yes, you earn 3x and pay 2x.

Works out pretty well.

Re: Google Fiber is coming to Las Vegas

#110

Post by anonymousiam » Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 1:24 AM UTC

I've got a place in Vegas that's presently served by CenturyLink. It has 1G/1G symmetrical fiber at a guaranteed fixed price of $65/mo. 8G is appealing. So far I haven't seen a map or a timeline of where/when. I signed up for status emails from Google over a year ago.