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Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

googlefiberblog.blogspot.com

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Re: Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

#101

Post by gonzo »

deltaqueue wrote: post #69
kyrra wrote: post #44

For those wondering where Google will roll out, we don't have exact details, but we have some information. 1) They said they will stick to Austin City Limits, which means within these boundaries [1]. 2) For those that followed up with how KC operated, Google runs their lines on electrical poles and all places the city power company has lines. This is one of the big things KC and Austin have in common: city owned elec…

I spoke with someone in Grande's (competing ISP) network planning division and he explained that getting into new buildings downtown was very expensive / difficult given Austin's telco requirements (have to dig up streets, etc.). Is this also the case for Google's fiber layout, or is there any speculation that buildings (condo and apartment) downtown will see this service?

It's really the landlords who want to be paid.

Re: Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

#102

Post by natrius »

j4ustin wrote: post #23
Legion wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Fiber to whatever suburbs are invited to the party will likely follow after that. I'm interested to see where in the priority list some of the closer suburbs are. Round Rock, after all, is Dell headquarters. I'd have to imagine there is going to be some strong demand up there.

They said the roll-out was focusing on Austin City Limits, and more specifically they stated the desire to release Fiber in public buildings (offices, hospitals, schools, etc.). This paired with the UT Austin teacher video they released leads me to believe it'll be available to the campus area, probably downtown as well (St. Davids main and Brackenridge Medical Center) and probably the surrounding neighborhoods. Pers…

That teacher was from the University of Texas Elementary School, which is in east Austin.

http://www.utelementary.org/

Re: Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

#103

Post by natrius »

bratsche wrote: post #13
ericabiz wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The great thing about working for an Internet company (I'm assuming you do since you've been on Hacker News for a while) is that you can really live anywhere. I moved my most recent startup to Austin after living in the Valley for 10 years and SoCal for 2. I'm already ridiculously happy with the move. And it seems like much of California is following me here--we are even getting an In-N-Out Burger this year! Austin i…

I live in Dallas and I like the lower cost of living and everything. But now I wish I lived in Austin. :) The thing I hate about both Dallas and Austin is driving. I used to live northeast and could walk everywhere much easier. Austin seems to be pretty bike-friendly though, and Dallas is becoming more so.

If you choose where you live and work carefully, living without a car in Austin isn't so bad. In particular, car2go is a godsend. That plus my bike and the bus get me around.

Re: Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

#104

Post by pekk »

kyrra wrote: post #60
k3n wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard a lot of things from AT&T customers, and "satisfied" is never one of them. This is too little too late, and I'm pretty sure that most of their current customers can't wait to jump ship -- regardless of whatever carrots that they bring out at the last minute.

Uverse has been solid for me. I've had them for 4 years now and they've had very limited downtime (a lot less then I had with TimeWarner). I'll happily move to Google Fiber, but Uverse has treated me just fine. While I wish their upload speeds were faster, but I haven't really had any options that were faster. What issues have you had with them exactly?

Once they have you they tend to aggressively hike their rates

Re: Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

#105

Post by gonzo »

caw wrote: post #88
clavalle wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"This expanded investment is not expected to materially alter AT&T’s anticipated 2013 capital expenditures." This is what pisses me off. Telcos have the capability and it won't even hit them that hard, financially. They just want to drag their feet to eek out whatever extra sliver of profit they can out of the current status quo.

In big-co speak that could mean either it's close to free, or they're rearranging their capex to prioritize Austin in order to compete (e.g. someone else isn't getting upgrades)

Or that AT&T already has a TON of fiber in the ground in Austin, from back in the 90s.

Re: Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

#106

Post by gonzo »

ericabiz wrote: post #11
enraged_camel wrote: post #6

I realize this is very much a "first-world problem," but I find it infinitely frustrating that Google Fiber will probably never be available where I live (Long Beach, CA). Apparently this is because the various environmental regulations in California make it prohibitively expensive to deploy it here. On the one hand I like the environment. On the other, I'm on DSL. :(

The great thing about working for an Internet company (I'm assuming you do since you've been on Hacker News for a while) is that you can really live anywhere. I moved my most recent startup to Austin after living in the Valley for 10 years and SoCal for 2. I'm already ridiculously happy with the move. And it seems like much of California is following me here--we are even getting an In-N-Out Burger this year! Austin i…

Shhhh! Don't tell him that Austin is great. Everyone will move here, then turn it into California.[1]

EVERYBODY: AUSTIN SUCKS, DON'T MOVE HERE! [2]

[1] it's possible that this has already happened, of course. [2] I just moved back (from Hawaii) in 2011.

Re: Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

#107

Post by intopieces »

natrius wrote: post #103
bratsche wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Dallas and I like the lower cost of living and everything. But now I wish I lived in Austin. :) The thing I hate about both Dallas and Austin is driving. I used to live northeast and could walk everywhere much easier. Austin seems to be pretty bike-friendly though, and Dallas is becoming more so.

If you choose where you live and work carefully, living without a car in Austin isn't so bad. In particular, car2go is a godsend. That plus my bike and the bus get me around.

I would agree with you if it weren't for the heat. And don't give me anything of that "It's a dry heat" bullshit; >90 days in a row over 100 degrees is enough to make the city turn into Do The Right Thing.

Re: Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

#108

Post by tufyjggbfhry »

caw wrote: post #89
k3n wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard a lot of things from AT&T customers, and "satisfied" is never one of them. This is too little too late, and I'm pretty sure that most of their current customers can't wait to jump ship -- regardless of whatever carrots that they bring out at the last minute.

My Uverse internet only service has been great. They messed up my bill 3 months (not so great), but it only took 5 minutes on the phone to fix . When I called to get my iPhone activation fee waived, they told me it hadn't hit yet, so they'd call me back on my billing date. They did (surprised!) they said they automatically credited the activation fee (super surprised!). Not sure I've been this excited about utility/t…

I can confirm this. The couple of times I've had issues they did a good job at adressing it and the att rep actually sounded helpful. Not some tired person who couldn't care less.

Re: Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

#109

Post by jseliger »

intopieces wrote: post #74
jseliger wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AT&T and existing telcos need to announce these kinds of initiatives before their crappy service invites competitors, not after.

Actually, they don't "need" to because they don't have any competition. Why invest (which is always a risk) when you can continue to rake in profits by doing nothing?

Because now they are getting more competitors—from Google, from municipal broadband, from Gigabit Seattle (http://gigabitseattle.com). Political types have realized that fast Internet connections are a real economic advantage.

Re: Google Fiber’s Next Stop: Austin, Texas

#110

Post by tomrod »

clavalle wrote: post #80
kyrra wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thinking about it now, I'd say south Austin more than east. Check out the population density map of austin (PDF): http://www.austinchamber.com/do-business/files/maps/PopDensi... If I were google, I would want to deploy to the more dense places (that could afford the service). South Austin seems to be the more "hip" place to live, and I think people in their 20-35 age range would be more likely to want to jump on Goog…

I'd guess north and west myself. Some south. The hipster parts of east.

Austinite here. East of I35 is commonly known as the "wrong side of the tracks". If Austin is wiring up for business and residential focus, they'll do west, some limited up north, downtown, and down Congress Avenue & First Avenue. They might extend to the west of MoPac (Loop 1, follows the old Missouri-Pacific line) but I'm not sure that the neighborhoods there are officially part of Austin or incorporated as a small suburb community.
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