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The future of Fiber

fiber.google.com

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Re: The future of Fiber

#161

Post by JunkDNA »

psbp wrote: post #54
JunkDNA wrote: post #41

I know it would be painful, and the local politics certifiably insane, but if Google wanted draw attention to the dysfunctional monopoly of the cable industry, there would be no better place to wire than Philly. Take the competition right into Comcast's back yard. Start with a rollout of the Philly 'burbs where the Comcast execs live and work inward toward the city from there.

You live in Philadelphia, don't you?

Yes, but I'm one of the fortunate ones with really fast FIOS and an actual choice between Verizon and Comcast. I wasn't necessarily making this point from the perspective of someone who wants Google Fiber. I was more saying that if Google's aim is to get incumbents to change their behavior, there is value in doing that in your primary competitor's front lawn.

I remember a Comcast exec a few years ago made the point that it was hard to do deals with Hollywood execs because the execs all lived in places in California that didn't have Comcast service, and couldn't really see the innovations Comcast was talking about.

Re: The future of Fiber

#162

Post by davesque »

27182818284 wrote: post #35

I'm really, really glad they chose Kansas City as the pilot city despite not living there. If they had just gone and chosen San Francisco, Chicago or New York, it would have been no more of an experiment than offering more cable channels to the big cities in the 1990s—It just is completely uninteresting. On a side note, If you haven't been to KC's Startup Village, the climate is electric! It feels like something real…

"Meanwhile a sleepy hacker is waking up and making breakfast in the kitchen. The climate is wonderful."

...really? It sounds more to me like that hacker in the kitchen is being overworked and feels compelled to not even go home at night. Going straight from the bed to the computer (or vice versa) is an unhealthy, unsustainable lifestyle.

Re: The future of Fiber

#163

Post by selectodude »

heartbreak wrote: post #114
shmerl wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then it's not an issue and Google is not scared of digging the earth. On the other hand they write they want to reuse existing conduits, rather than perform new construction.

I don't understand your point. Just because Atlanta isn't as densely developed as New York City doesn't make it "rural".

In every metro area they've chosen, the vast majority of dwellings are single-family, owner occupied. So they can run cables above ground next to the existing telco equipment, and approach homeowners directly when it comes to installing the drop.

In Chicago, about 60 percent of the city is NOT owner-occupied. I'm sure New York is significantly higher. MDU runs are much more expensive, even with cooperative landlords.

Re: The future of Fiber

#164

Post by liotier »

mje__ wrote: post #157

It seems one of the biggest costs of fiber is installation; i.e. trenching. Why is it not hung from poles? It must be much cheaper and quicker, surely?

Yes, whereas Europe puts everything underground, US operators will go cheap and string stuff across poles. My supplier of infrastructure management software was astonished when they saw at our data an realized we have almost no aerial spans in France.

Re: The future of Fiber

#165

Post by kushti »

If you want to save money with Fiber, it's okay. But please use VPN with encryption or other traffic-encryption methods to no let Big Brother intercept all of your your data.

Re: The future of Fiber

#166

Post by [deleted] »

wj wrote: post #74
bhousel wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doing any kind of utility work in NYC is a nightmare. There's lots of stuff underground (power, telecom, water, steam, sewer) that has been built up over the years and is in various states of obsolescence and disrepair, and in many cases isn't really marked on any utility maps. It's not a trivial matter to just dig a new trench for fiber. Here's a interesting story of what happened when an electrician found a 250VDC…

And here is a cool cross section of what lies underneath New York City: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/nyunderground/

[deleted]

Re: The future of Fiber

#167

Post by Pxtl »

bhousel wrote: post #53
aetherson wrote: post #9

I guess I fundamentally do not understand what makes a city a good or bad candidate for this kind of service. Why is SF or NY not an obvious candidate? Density means that there are lots of customers for a given physical length of infrastructure rollout, they're both wealthy cities with a large proportion of techies who could use faster internet... I'm sure they're both nightmares to deal with permitting processes for…

Doing any kind of utility work in NYC is a nightmare. There's lots of stuff underground (power, telecom, water, steam, sewer) that has been built up over the years and is in various states of obsolescence and disrepair, and in many cases isn't really marked on any utility maps. It's not a trivial matter to just dig a new trench for fiber. Here's a interesting story of what happened when an electrician found a 250VDC…

... dangit, I wish I knew more about electrical work. Why was that so dangerous? I mean, besides 250 volts and rotted-out insulation. The writer makes it sound like he just discovered an unexploded bomb.

Re: The future of Fiber

#168

Post by skyebook »

twoodfin wrote: post #71
skyebook wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I've heard/seen this as well, they've done it in favor of expanding LTE coverage [0] I'm astounded at how anyone at VZ thinks this could be a good idea. [0] http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Again-Confirms-Fi...

There are a lot of folks on forums like this who think networks like FiOS should be regulated into being essentially dumb pipes. Verizon and their investors see some chance of this happening, and even if it didn't, it turns out there aren't a lot of "value added" services you can sell to consumers over a proprietary network; they just want the internet. You can't make the margins as a "dumb pipe" that Verizon needs t…

Its a shame, regulated pipes is starting to look like the most reasonable solution when providers are doing exactly what you said, eyeing up higher margin models and drooling.

Regardless of opinions on free market, political leanings, etc, the fact that this is standing in the way of progress is bad news for everyone.

Re: The future of Fiber

#169

Post by simmons »

jcomis wrote: post #151
simmons wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a resident of greater Denver-Boulder, I, too, was disappointed to see the big empty space on the map around Colorado. At least one ISP here is experimenting with residential gigabit, though -- I'm hoping that maybe someday I can get it in my neighborhood: http://fiber.forethought.net/

interesting. Their website is a bit lacking in info. Do they offer residential service at all right now? Looks like they are just servicing larger multi-tenant buildings, I'm guessing where everyone needs to sign up to get them to come and install.

It's in the extremely nascent stages right now. I think they'll be turning on the first residential gigabit customers in downtown shortly. We've occasionally discussed the idea of getting my condo complex in Arvada lit up -- it's technically feasible, although I suppose the numbers would have to work out.
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