Chicago and Los Angeles Are Next Up for Google Fiber

Post by RDeckard » Wed, Dec 09, 2015, 6:33 AM UTC

logfromblammo wrote: post #65

wiremine wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People will think you're joking, but it's the first thing I thought, too. My parents live in Chicago, and they just roll their eyes about all the way people seem to steal from the city.

Ex-Chicagoan here. This is absolutely, positively not a joke. I can probably come up with a half dozen schemes that would use the fiber build-out as a thinly-veiled excuse to bleed both Google and city residents. Let's try. 1. All network providers would be allowed to charge a new "infrastructure maintenance fee" to their customers. A fixed $2, plus 40% of the amount of the fee, would go to the city per customer-mont…

Post by oh_sigh » Wed, Dec 09, 2015, 7:02 AM UTC

ugh123 wrote: post #123

davidf18 wrote: post #121

Congrats to the residents of Chicago and LA for having the local government leadership to work with Google. I wish I could say the same for NYC where I live. Despite the fact that Google owns one of the largest office buildings in the city where many engineers and other staff work, there is no Google fiber here. Sadly, the mayor seems more focused attempting to slow the growth of Uber until the residents vociferously…

> popular horse drawn carriages Popular with whom? The minimal revenue it brings from primarily tourists? Most of the backlash has come from NYC residents who deplore the conditions for the horses. The welfare of the horses should take precedence over the minimal revenue they bring.

Post by itsboring » Wed, Dec 09, 2015, 7:12 AM UTC

FireBeyond wrote: post #155

rayiner wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least you can get shit built in Chicago by paying people off. In places like Baltimore, you're just not allowed to build anything.

Similar in Seattle. Good luck getting Google Fiber here.

Post by jedberg » Wed, Dec 09, 2015, 7:15 AM UTC

Someone1234 wrote: post #56

jedberg wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually it has, which is probably why they are avoiding it. There are many broadband choices in SF, some with pretty high speeds, some totally wireless. My guess is that the city, being as regulatory happy as it is (and being specifically anti-Google thanks to the bus fiasco), is not interested in working with Google to make fiber happen. You'll notice San Jose is on the list, and that actually includes a whole bunc…

The whole bus thing was not remotely Google's fault. In fact the buses weren't even really the problem. The protests were largely about rent increases caused by tech workers. The buses were just a symbol of the difference between tech workers and everyone else (and broad inequality). Plus I struggle to side with the protesters when they do stuff like this[0]: > Last week, a group of activists stalked a Google enginee…

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Dec 09, 2015, 7:25 AM UTC

nkrisc wrote: post #22

ChrisBland wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a resident of Chicago, I thought the exact same thing. They will either have to pay off the right alderman or they will never get this built in under 5 years. Sometimes this city embarrasses me, while at other times, I'm really proud of the work the DoIT has done in Chicago. The data they are making available is great, if only they could modernize the rest of our city services...

Yeah, in some regards I'm being awfully cynical. As you said, there are also good things the city has done. You can even view the location of every snowplow in the city in real time; pretty cool when you're waiting for your one-way side street to be plowed.