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Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

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Re: Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

#241

Post by Nrsolis »

api wrote: post #29

Thank GOD they're disrupting this industry. All the telcos are worthless "Soviet bureaus" that deserve death. It's really sort of amazing to think about. In all my years on this planet I have never been pleased with a telecom company. Never. I have always felt like I was paying far too much for inferior service, contemptible customer support, and endless efforts to further "monetize" me through harassing phone calls…

Really?

You might change your mind when you consider that Bell Labs (part of the "Soviet Bureau" you despise) created:

- The transistor - The laser - The C language - The Unix operating system

Other notable discoveries (but not of concern to those who discount anything not Internet-related) are things like the cosmic background radiation, etc. etc. etc.

SO: as much as I hate to defend "the telcos" (wired/wireless/cable) which according to the OP are completely interchangable and not at all distinguishable, they had their good points.

What you're (probably) pissed about is the business model that (most) telcos are forced to follow since deregulation.

Consider this: since deregulation, the cost to deliver bandwidth has dropped so significantly that it's actually CHEAPER to build a "telco" now than it was just 10 years ago. Once you factor in the cost to build out fiber links and light those with equipment, you get more bandwidth today than your earlier competitors got.

Hey, there's still a few dialup providers around. Maybe you think thats a better option?

Re: Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

#242

Post by mahyarm »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #191
mahyarm wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, it's not the airlines themselves most of the time, but the airports & governments and the requirements they force on airlines. The airports & government bureaucracy take something that should just be a catching a greyhound within 10 minutes of boarding into a 2-4 hour stressful nightmare.

Which requirements are you talking about, specifically?

Airlines enforce minimum check-in times of 1.5 hrs before domestic flights and around 2.5hrs for international flights. With international flights, they love to have you wait in line to check in and get your ticket with an actual person. They won't let you print off your ticket online, or when you purchase it half the time with international flights.

They do this because they know that people can be stuck for 30-60 minutes in a security line and customs & immigration on both sides add another layer of BS.

It turns 4 hours of round trip airtime into 8-10 hours of round trip travel time, starting from when you enter the airport. On top of that you have the stress of missing your flight because of this BS.

Re: Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

#243

Post by swalsh »

I think Google has another unmentioned monopoly. Some of the smartest people in the world are employed by them. They have experience in AI, and as seen by the self driving car they also know how to do practical things with it.

Google being the kind of company that is opposed to hiring an army of manual labors, could very well create an army of digging robots to lay the fiber for them. I can see google scaling this faster then anyone else.

Re: Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

#244

Post by guelo »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #200
api wrote: post #29

Thank GOD they're disrupting this industry. All the telcos are worthless "Soviet bureaus" that deserve death. It's really sort of amazing to think about. In all my years on this planet I have never been pleased with a telecom company. Never. I have always felt like I was paying far too much for inferior service, contemptible customer support, and endless efforts to further "monetize" me through harassing phone calls…

I'm actually somewhat content with my broadband options. No, I'm not ecstatic and am glad this is happening but PLEASE someone disrupt the damn cell phone business. My ISP doesn't install software on my computer, doesn't hit me with mystery fees, and doesn't tell MS or Apple what to do, but cell carriers do all these things and more. >and endless efforts to further "monetize" me through harassing phone calls trying t…

Google tried to disrupt the cell phone industry by bidding $4 billion on the old TV frequency auction but they were cockblocked by the shitty Bush-era FCC and collusion between ATT and Verizon. Makes you wonder how things would have been different, would Apple have sold the iPhone on the Google network?

Re: Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

#245

Post by adavies42 »

joshAg wrote: post #214
potatolicious wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Airlines?" Heh. Flying is a terrible experience because what most people pay for is the transportation equivalent of a Wal-Mart jar of pickles. The price of flying, especially as a proportion of income, has tanked since the golden age we all yearn for. There's a reason airlines no longer serve meals, give out free pillows, and are still going bankrupt every few years - the margins are razor thin and the competitio…

> If you paid as much now as you did for the same flight in the 70s, you'd still get the very same service. I believe they call it first-class now. I had the opportunity to purchase a first class upgrade (first time not flying economy) on an Alaska flight from Seattle to Oakland, and the service difference between the coach experience just two days prior was insane. There was no meal in coach (flying during breakfast…

i've flown international business class on luxury airlines twice (once on singapore on the company dime, and once on qatar through a random complimentary upgrade). the service is just staggering--never mind the full-flat bed-seats, the unlimited free liquor, the gourmet food, or the entertainment center with a full array of power outlets and usb and video ports so i could run any device and content i wanted, what really impressed me was the rose in a vase on my table when i boarded, and the pajamas in the care package (with the slippers and eyemask and so on).

i'm splurging and flying "premium coach" (or w/e the hell they call it on Virgin) on my next vacation; we'll see how it compares....

Re: Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

#246

Post by mseebach »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #84

While I am super happy that the cable industry is getting disrupted as it deserves to be(the wireless industry sucks too, maybe a tech company can buy TMobile or Sprint), I feel uneasy about the following two points: 1) Profitability: I wonder how profitable and sustainable this is for Google? They can subsidize it for only so long before deciding to discontinue it as has been happening to many of their services rece…

1: Someone mentioned that it's a $700 cost, less the $300 you pay - so $400. Also, installation of the fiber is like to be amortized over 100 years or more: So single figure amounts a year for the fiber itself. Of course, there's an upfront capital expenditure, but Google literally has more cash than they know what to do with, so no problem.

Once the fiber is in the ground and connected to the Google backbone, I would guess that delivering 5 mbit internet service to the kind of people who won't/can't pay $70 for insanely fast Internet is actually cheaper than sending out the invoice.

2: I, for one, welcome our new advertisement-serving AI overlords. Also, I doubt that Google can learn much new about you from your TV habits than from all the other sources you mentioned.

Re: Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

#247

Post by brianjolney »

jvanenk wrote: post #174
philwelch wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Be careful what you wish for. I'm dubious of getting any kind of service from a company known for not having any kind of customer service whatsoever.

I actually have some experience with GoogCustSvc now. I bought a Nexus 7. It has touch-screen problems. They provided a way to contact them here ( http://support.google.com/nexus/bin/request.py?contact_type=... ). I talked to the rep (after waiting about 30 minutes). They were helpful, direct, competent, and provided a way for me to contact the person I talked to via e-mail after the call was ended. They organized a…

For me they charged the wrong card for my Nexus 7, and I wrote them to see about fixing that.

Exactly 10 days later I received an email about american express cards being declined, and that I should now be good to go.

Google is great, just not when it comes to human beings helping you.

Re: Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

#248

Post by Nrsolis »

magicalist wrote: post #232
maratd wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> contemptible customer support Because Google will be so much better? Look, I hate telcos just like the next guy, but the suckage is mostly due to the nature of the business. They form natural monopolies and that sort of thing doesn't lead to customer satisfaction. The only way that sector is going to get truly disrupted is through gigabit wireless internet. You can have multiple competitors in one space with compar…

It's kind of ridiculous to talk about "natural monopolies" when often it is a government-mandated monopoly via cable franchise agreements. It's also ridiculous to talk about predatory pricing when historically all major telecom infrastructure has been government subsidized. The major ISPs are all capable of competing in this market (Comcast and Time Warner Cable both have had profits growing at rates many times highe…

Those franchise agreements aren't a something-for-nothing type of arrangement.

In exchange for a franchise, a telco has to guarantee coverage to a certain area and give up other things called "proffers." That usually includes things like public access channels and money/bandwidth for schools/libraries.

In Northern Virginia, Cox Cable has to provide FREE public access INTERNET which includes colocation of a server.

Consider also that building a network isn't cheap and franchise agreements are a way for a city to get a service that wouldn't otherwise arrive without some guarantee of a market.

Re: Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

#249

Post by apenwarr »

criswell wrote: post #157
snprbob86 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the included remote is a Nexus 7. Sounds almost too good to be true.

I hope they still provide a regular remote of some sort. I don't want to have to unlock a tablet and go to an app to change the channel.

Yup, there's a standard remote with both IR and bluetooth capability. (I work at GFiber.)

Re: Google Fiber Plans & Pricing

#250

Post by timthorn »

wickedchicken wrote: post #199
maratd wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> contemptible customer support Because Google will be so much better? Look, I hate telcos just like the next guy, but the suckage is mostly due to the nature of the business. They form natural monopolies and that sort of thing doesn't lead to customer satisfaction. The only way that sector is going to get truly disrupted is through gigabit wireless internet. You can have multiple competitors in one space with compar…

> You can have multiple competitors in one space with comparatively limited infrastructure investment on their part. Spectrum and tower licensing is off the hook, and it's unlikely that more than a handful of companies will have the business acumen, capital, and regulatory skill to build up a network of significance. Any 'gigabit wireless' scheme will likely look the same it does today: a handful of key players with…

I'm getting 60+ Mbps down and 20 up on my DSL line. With vectoring it could go to 120 down. It is VDSL not ADSL, but still over copper pair - significantly more than 20 down.
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