Google Fiber Network thread.......

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

A third city has been added........

Google Fiber Blog

[SackAttack]

Somebody needs to take away MBBF's period button.

Not everything needs a terminal ellipse.

[jeff061]

Out of all places....Provo? I guess it may help a man entertain his 13 wives.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Out of all places....Provo? I guess it may help a man entertain his 13 wives.

Sounds like most of it had to do with the fiber network already in place there. They just have to upgrade it and they're ready to go.

[Lonnie]

I sell fiber to the home equipment to a company that covers Provo. I wonder if Google is just buying up their fiber from them? That would be bad news for me.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Lonnie

I sell fiber to the home equipment to a company that covers Provo. I wonder if Google is just buying up their fiber from them? That would be bad news for me.

The post said they were upgrading the existing network. Not sure if that means buying or if they get some kind of provider agreement.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Nice move by Google. TV was controlled only by Android devices previously. They've now added an app on Apple iPad to control TV as well.

Google Fiber Blog

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Nice move by Google. TV was controlled only by Android devices previously. They've now added an app on Apple iPad to control TV as well.

Google Fiber Blog

Their TV offering is still way behind the competition. I haven't seen them comment on when/if they will have a TV Everywhere feature that will stream networks and VOD to mobile devices, whether inside or outside the home.

They finally added HBO and Cinemax. For all of Google's preaching about competition opening up the marketplace, they are offering HBO at $20 a month, the highest price any cable system is offering HBO. Most are in the $15-17 range. That does no favor for consumers. And since Google's model isn't based on churn and premium video isn't a significant profit center for them, it's doubtful to expect any special offers like free HBO for a period of time or sales.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by Lonnie

I sell fiber to the home equipment to a company that covers Provo. I wonder if Google is just buying up their fiber from them? That would be bad news for me.

Chances they are. The Utopia project has been a major fail in a lot of peoples yes and was fought by a lot of the old farts of the area for years so the roll out sucked.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

They finally added HBO and Cinemax. For all of Google's preaching about competition opening up the marketplace, they are offering HBO at $20 a month, the highest price any cable system is offering HBO. Most are in the $15-17 range. That does no favor for consumers. And since Google's model isn't based on churn and premium video isn't a significant profit center for them, it's doubtful to expect any special offers like free HBO for a period of time or sales.

Well, that's more a product of HBO's business model. When HBO says cable companies keep prices down (mostly because the cable companies do the advertising for HBO), they aren't lying.

It also means any potential non-cable HBOGO offering would be at least $30/month if they did so.

[SteveMax58]

Yeah I can tell you with certainty cable operators do not make any real money on HBO. Its more of a loss leader.

Actually, we have determined that we make MUCH more money on Netflix than HBO. And we don't offer Netflix. You can figure out what that means I'm sure.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Their TV offering is still way behind the competition. I haven't seen them comment on when/if they will have a TV Everywhere feature that will stream networks and VOD to mobile devices, whether inside or outside the home.

They finally added HBO and Cinemax. For all of Google's preaching about competition opening up the marketplace, they are offering HBO at $20 a month, the highest price any cable system is offering HBO. Most are in the $15-17 range. That does no favor for consumers. And since Google's model isn't based on churn and premium video isn't a significant profit center for them, it's doubtful to expect any special offers like free HBO for a period of time or sales.

They're charging a price that actually makes money only to those that have HBO. I'd rather have that any day over what I get on services like Time Warner where they charge $12-15/month and pad their basic and basic plus channel service prices to make up the difference. I don't need specials when you're pushing 1GB speeds into my home. That's special enough.

[kcchief19]

Google Fiber earns good grades from early customers in KCK - KansasCity.com

Customer feedback on Google Fiber so far. Pretty much what I expected. The Internet service is attractive for its price and convenience but it's not earth shattering. The TV experience is pretty shaky -- lots of freezing channels and glitches, things that don't make sense.

Customer service is rated very high ... But they may have only a few thousand customers at most. Will it be the same when customers are in the millions?

I've been curious if Google allows third-party routers. There was a reference in the article that Wi-fi is shaky at times an doesn't always reach the entire home. I'll have to ask about that next time I have a meeting at the Google Fiber store.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by SteveMax58

Yeah I can tell you with certainty cable operators do not make any real money on HBO. Its more of a loss leader.

Actually, we have determined that we make MUCH more money on Netflix than HBO. And we don't offer Netflix. You can figure out what that means I'm sure.

I worked for a cable operator and I can tell you that is not true. HBO is a definite profit center even with the periodic specials. The break even point varies, but usually as long as the customer keeps a premium service at least six months, the company makes money.

I still say that $20 a month with no HBOGo is an absolute ripoff. Time Warner Inc. doesn't like what Google is doing, and the HBO/premium division of TW Inc. are complete jag offs. They know Google had to have HBO and made them pay the highest rate possible. Also gives HBO more leverage with other operators.

I have no doubt Netflix drives cable profits. Internet service has a ridiculously high margin, and if you're able to get people to upgrade their Internet service so they can stream video, it's a massive profit per user. There is almost no marginal cost to offer 30mbps versus 5mbps per second but the cost difference can be $30-40 or more.

[mckerney]

Looks like Google's plan may be working in some places.

Vermont Telephone Company's gigabit internet service is live, half the price of Google Fiber

[Desnudo]

Die oligarchy die!

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

I worked for a cable operator and I can tell you that is not true. HBO is a definite profit center even with the periodic specials. The break even point varies, but usually as long as the customer keeps a premium service at least six months, the company makes money.

I dont know how long ago you are going back but this is not the case these days, nor has it been for a number of years now. And thats not a guess from what some coworker has told me.

Its relative of course. Its not like ESPN where you are grossly overpaying & subsidizing the rest of the lineup around it...but as a standalone product offering it isnt highly profitable.

And FYI many of the specials (i.e. HBO free for 6 months!) are not paid for by the operator. Customer retention deals, yes. But not widespread HBO free for 90 days type of specials. Thats typically a contractual option which has limitations for when & how often...but it isnt indicative of the amount of profit an operator is making.

Untangling all of the financial interleaves of the business is not an easy task. There is more obfuscation of where cost is ultimately being derived than the government I think. But I assure you anybody charging at or under $20 for HBO is not raking in the profits when factoring in the programming cost + ancillary costs.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Google Fiber earns good grades from early customers in KCK - KansasCity.com

Customer feedback on Google Fiber so far. Pretty much what I expected. The Internet service is attractive for its price and convenience but it's not earth shattering. The TV experience is pretty shaky -- lots of freezing channels and glitches, things that don't make sense.

Customer service is rated very high ... But they may have only a few thousand customers at most. Will it be the same when customers are in the millions?

I've been curious if Google allows third-party routers. There was a reference in the article that Wi-fi is shaky at times an doesn't always reach the entire home. I'll have to ask about that next time I have a meeting at the Google Fiber store.

I'll take that anyday. TWC and AT&T both have glitches in their TV regularly (I've gone back and forth between both) and their internet service crawls at times (we currently have both AT&T and TWC internet going into our house and have a switch box that selects the best connection on the fly for my wife's work at home). I'll take dramatically improved internet speeds and TV service that's roughly the same and not complain a bit.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by SteveMax58

I dont know how long ago you are going back but this is not the case these days, nor has it been for a number of years now. And thats not a guess from what some coworker has told me.

I'm not guessing either. If your argument is correct, then cable has a broken financial model and should just get out of the business entirely.

If HBO is a loss leader, why would you promote HBObto your existing customers? HBO should be something you only offer to gain new subs or retain current subs. It shouldn't be something you actively pitch to your sub base. Of it is a loss leader, why would you incentivize employees to upsell premium channels?

What do you think the profit for HBO is for an MSO? Even a dollar a sub per month is tens of millions for Comcast and TWC. If you look at the price per MSO, I would have no doubt smaller operators work at thinner margins.

If you have a gig of fiber and HBO is $20 a month, why wouldn't you torrent the heck out of HBO shows and movies? It's an invitation to piracy.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'll take that anyday. TWC and AT&T both have glitches in their TV regularly (I've gone back and forth between both) and their internet service crawls at times (we currently have both AT&T and TWC internet going into our house and have a switch box that selects the best connection on the fly for my wife's work at home). I'll take dramatically improved internet speeds and TV service that's roughly the same and not complain a bit.

From what I've seen this far, you'll have dramatically improved TV service and clearly inferior TV service. I saw a demo at the Google store where local HD channels and even some cable HD channels looked like hell. There is little logic to the TV lineup and there are some gaps.

Can they improve? No doubt they will. I'd take it too at this point. AT&T has not improved on four years, and has actually regressed as a product. Varies by market, but TWC has actually improved in a lot of areas. Customer service is the big failing.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

From what I've seen this far, you'll have dramatically improved TV service and clearly inferior TV service. I saw a demo at the Google store where local HD channels and even some cable HD channels looked like hell. There is little logic to the TV lineup and there are some gaps.

Can they improve? No doubt they will. I'd take it too at this point. AT&T has not improved on four years, and has actually regressed as a product. Varies by market, but TWC has actually improved in a lot of areas. Customer service is the big failing.

Yeah, customer service is the big hang-up. I've had to call over and over again to get things fixed. If I'm getting people to talk to and automatic credits for service interruption, I at least feel like someone cares.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

I'm not guessing either. If your argument is correct, then cable has a broken financial model and should just get out of the business entirely.

If HBO is a loss leader, why would you promote HBObto your existing customers? HBO should be something you only offer to gain new subs or retain current subs. It shouldn't be something you actively pitch to your sub base. Of it is a loss leader, why would you incentivize employees to upsell premium channels?

What do you think the profit for HBO is for an MSO? Even a dollar a sub per month is tens of millions for Comcast and TWC. If you look at the price per MSO, I would have no doubt smaller operators work at thinner margins.

If you have a gig of fiber and HBO is $20 a month, why wouldn't you torrent the heck out of HBO shows and movies? It's an invitation to piracy.

Hmm...not sure I care to go down this discussion path in any more detail with the amount of misinformation you are throwing out there. I yield...you win.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by SteveMax58

Hmm...not sure I care to go down this discussion path in any more detail with the amount of misinformation you are throwing out there. I yield...you win.

Whatever. I don't know where your information is coming from so I have no way to judge the accuracy of your information. I've worked for a MSO within the past 18 months and I still read quite a bit on the subject. I'll tell what I know and think within the bounds of my ethical responsibilities regarding confidential information.

If you want to go do a search of publicly available information and see that it's estimated HBO rakes in about $8 per month per subscriber from MSOs, and you want to argue that is a loss leader, good luck. That pig don't fly.

EDIT: My guess is that you and I come from different backgrounds and have different pieces of information. Put them together and we may learn that the revenues to MSOs from premium channels are more than you think and the expense to MSOs for delivering premium channels is more than I think.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Yeah, customer service is the big hang-up. I've had to call over and over again to get things fixed. If I'm getting people to talk to and automatic credits for service interruption, I at least feel like someone cares.

Exactly. My real question is how will customer service for Google work as more and more subs hit the system. They appear to be very proactive now, but I'm not sure how many users they have. I would think it's a few thousand by now but it may still be in the hundreds. What's it look like if they have 300,000 in KC, 240,000 in Austin and more and more popping up.

Given that my family watches a lot of TV, I wish the TV quality and service was stronger. They are still essentially in beta testing, so it should improve.

But long term, I'm still not sold that Google wants to be an Internet service provider. I'm still convinced they simply want to goose the market, prompt the big companies to expanding and upgrading their networks and maybe license technology. It would appear from their patent filings they have some breakthroughs that would make fiber to the home less expensive.

In the KC agreements the electric utility companies are partners in the agreements and have the opportunity to buy Google out at fair market value if Google ever decides to abandon the project. If Google ever pulls out of the fiber business, will customer service be the first thing to go?

[Desnudo]

Omaha come on down! Not as great a deal as google. Good to see some competition generating though.

http://gigaom.com/2013/05/01/century...ever-in-omaha/

[kcchief19]

Impressive. $80 bundled and $150 standalone actually isn't a bad price. It's more expensive compared to Google, but when compared to other FTTH projects nationwide that's a really good deal. Before Google came along, $300 plus was the going rate.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

One of my buddies was excited to see this in front of his house this morning....



Should have good info on speeds from him in a few days.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

It's our turn! Just got info that our neighborhood can start signing up for Google Fiber service in March 2014!

I'm just a little bit excited.

[kcchief19]

Good news they are coming north ... bad news that I haven't heard about our neighborhood yet. We're not that far away!

Bear Communications has been doing fiber work along 112th street near the KCP&L substation. Google has a deal to use KCP&L facilities and dark fiber already in place. Bear does work for Google and Time Warner Cable, so it's hard to tell the provider for sure.

Did you get an email or hear through the grapevine? Did a quick search and didn't see any official announcement about going north of the river.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

It was on the Google Fiber Blog. Exact neighborhoods weren't mentioned, but they've already outlined the area of NKC that is getting fiber in their 'coming soon' map on the official website. If you're in the populated area between I-35 and I-435 in NKC, you're getting it.

We also have some news for those of you who are in areas that haven’t been able to get Fiber yet. In March, folks in Kansas City, North, South Kansas City, Mo, Gladstone, Grandview and Raytown will be able to start signing up for Google Fiber. Just like our first wave of sign-ups, we’ll divide these areas into small sections called “fiberhoods.” In each fiberhood, a certain number of homes will need to sign up for service in order to qualify their area for Google Fiber — so get ready to rally your neighbors! We’ll have more info to share (along with a map of the fiberhoods) in the beginning of 2014.

Google Fiber Blog

[kcchief19]

Wow ... they buried the lead on that one. I saw the news and the blog entry about giving the existing fiberhoods a second chance to sign up but I think a lot of people missed the part about the new signup areas in March.

I still can't find the coming soon map. As good as Google is, their fiber website is a convoluted mess.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Oh man. Google Fiber trucks in the neighborhood. They're starting to put in hardware in KC North, getting ready for the March sign-up. Sounds like they picked our area to be next because of the interest level in this part of the city.

Can't come quick enough.

[kcchief19]

Friend of mine snapped a pick of a Google Fiber vehicle working on cable along North Oak. Seems to be picking up steam.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Pretty similar experience to what I've heard about amongst friends who have the service.......

Google Fiber: Why you need to get online 100 times faster | Fox News

[Ragone]

Looks like a lot of cable being laid along 291

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ragone

Looks like a lot of cable being laid along 291

Was told they'll be laying a full cable the length of 152 Hwy on the north end of KC as well. Makes sense.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Was told they'll be laying a full cable the length of 152 Hwy on the north end of KC as well. Makes sense.

Doesn't make sense to lay half of a cable.

[Ragone]

Can't wait to dump time warner with extreme prejudice..

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Main line being laid in our neighborhood. Getting fired up now.

Had a guy come into the winery yesterday and he already has Google Fiber (lives in KCK). He and his wife are big Star Wars MMO players and he's a PC tech for a corporation in the area. He said once he made sure his entire network in his home was all 1GB routers/switches, he had no problem puling 900 Mbps. He said that the bottleneck in his system is now his graphics card on his PC. Said he never though there would be a point where the internet speed isn't the bottleneck when playing online.

He did have some advice on making sure you get hooked up sooner rather than later. He said the boxes on the outside of the house usually come pretty quickly. What can take some time if you don't get on top of it is the appointment to get your house set up. Said as soon as you start receiving correspondence via e-mail or notes left on door, call Google Fiber immediately for best results. Said that some of his friends used e-mail with mixed results and caused some delays.

Also did mention that you need to optimize your boxes for your house. He said to remember that the various boxes within the house can all be used as wireless points. So if you have some slow spots in your house, just switch on a box in that area to speed things up.

[Ragone]

I live down 291 from your winery.. Past the sonic and newer price chopper.. All kinds of cable everywhere.. Can't wait to be honest

[cartman]

Learn about Internet speed - Fiber Help

Another thing to consider is that all points on the Internet between Google Fiber's network and the website you visit (including speed test websites) do not necessarily run at 1Gig. Even if our Fiber network and your devices are fully capable of achieving 1Gig speeds, Google cannot ensure that you will receive 1Gig speeds from end to end. Once your communication leaves the Fiber network, it might encounter segments of the Internet providing slower service—often due to heavy traffic or substantial rerouting delays—at any time. It is our hope that overall Internet performance will improve over time.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ragone

I live down 291 from your winery.. Past the sonic and newer price chopper.. All kinds of cable everywhere.. Can't wait to be honest

My event coordinator lives up there. She mentioned that she'd seen line in her neighborhood. It's crazy to see how much infrastructure is being laid all of a sudden.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Time for some more cities to get excited. Google targeting 34 new cities for possible Google Fiber lines.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2014/...gle-fiber.html

Map of cities being considered.......

https://fiber.google.com/newcities/

[Arles]

That would be sweet if Phoenix was added. Time to put a dent in the expensive Cox monopoly.

[Radii]

hm Raleigh is listed but not my town which is about 20 miles from both downtown Raleigh and downtown Durham.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Radii

hm Raleigh is listed but not my town which is about 20 miles from both downtown Raleigh and downtown Durham.

As we've found in KC, the main thing is to get your metro area on board. If they get infrastructure in the main city, they give the smaller cities around the option to opt-in. We've had about 8-10 surrounding cities added since the initial announcement. I think at some level the civic leaders get pressured by their residents to jump in because of the increase in property value that it gives them.

[ISiddiqui]

OMG! OMG! Atlanta metro is being considered!!! Including Decatur and Avondale Estates (I currently live between the two cities).... happy!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

OMG! OMG! Atlanta metro is being considered!!! Including Decatur and Avondale Estates (I currently live between the two cities).... happy!

Be sure to put your name/address in on their e-mail list on the site. They'll provide updates as the process moves along.

[jbergey22]

This looks like a good deal. Wonder if it will come to rural Minnesota prior to 2050? Anyone remember the good old days of 56k dial up?

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Be sure to put your name/address in on their e-mail list on the site. They'll provide updates as the process moves along.

I did so! Thanks!