Louisville says yes to Google Fiber. Funny story: AT&T, TWC didn't want that to happen The city of Louisville, Kentucky, has approved a plan to bring Google Fiber service to residents and businesses. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports the US city's Metro Council voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance granting Google and other high-speed carriers access to city-owned utility poles. The move provides …
Well I'm still getting twice weekly "High Speed (1.5Mbs) Internet !!!!!!!!!!" offers from ATT. </miffed>
See, they KNOW I have DSL via a competitor, and so they pitch the prices to initially lower (put them out of business) and then higher (now they have you hooked).
Hence, until we get Google Fiber to announce, we have laughable duopoly of ATT and Comcast, both promising the Earth and delivering derisable services.
It would help if bandwidth could be unbundled from digital services (e.g. movies, audio etc..).
The conflict of interest to screw up net neutrality (slow competitor, bless their own) and impose bandwidth caps (except for their service), and insist 1.5Mbs is "fast enough".
The point about 1Gb/s , is not that you may EVER need it, but it enables future of much great service distribution.
Bandwidth caps are the rusty bearings on this wagon, heading west on the internet highway..
P.
Considering Comcast/TW use subcontractors that still don't have a clue where their equipment is every time they visit, I wouldn't stand too tall claiming to be concerned about their cabling. Especially considering they do such a cra ptastic job at burying their home bound cables. Then again, maybe they know precisely what level of monkeys they have working for them, and have a valid concern...
overzealous installers run the risk of damaging TWC's data lines when laying the new cables.
Really Time Warner? *That's* your fake reason?
I'll say this - when a regional FTTP company started installing fiber in my subdivision, I noticed that my existing Comcast service mysteriously started working better. I dumped them like a hot rock anyway (cause fuck 'em) but it is amazing what even the prospect of a little competition can do. Now I get twice the speed for basically the same price I had been paying.
but it is amazing what even the prospect of a little competition can do. Now I get twice the speed for basically the same price I had been paying.
Up to a point yes. But consider that they may be simply going all out to ensure that Google's Louisville plans don't meet the investment case that Google want. If Google don't get the number of subscribers the plan needs (or they get the numbers, but not the average revenues due to TWC discounting their plans), then the scheme won't get fully built out, which protects some of TWC's Louisville revenues, and there's a good chance that Google won't repeat the idea elsewhere.
So in the grander scheme of things, TWC could well be far better served by taking a big hit for a few years on their Louisville network. If Google pack up and leave, TWC can return to fleecing customers like the good old days, if Google don't leave, Louisville remains an enduring battleground where TWC have to prove that there's no money to be made by entrants laying new infrastructure.
Even if Google were to leave after a period and TWC resumes monopolistic price gouging, the people of Louisville will be be better off for having paid lower prices and received better service while there we competition. Elsewhere, people who did not benefit, and will not if Google becomes discouraged and abandons the business, will be no worse off. The notion that TWC will be better off for having had competition is pretty much rubbish, since the competition will have reduced their net while it existed, and its end will not enable them to raise prices higher than they could have if it never occurred.
@Ledswinger
The incumbents are not keen on competition, even for a short period of time, and lower profits for even a few years are not what they want.
Pricing Google out of the market is a strategy they could employ, but it's far more cost effective to bribe the State level politicians to pass some phoney legislation to prevent competition.
Google what happened in Tennesee when Chattanooga tried to set up municipal broadband.
Isn't there some Law of telcos along the lines of:
"never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by a telco contractor with a back hoe and inaccurate duct information"
Telco: your line is down because of contractors cutting it
Customer: which telco?
Telco: probably one of our competitors
Customer: but aren't their services on the other side of the road?
Telco: yes
Customer: so it was your contractors that did this?
Telco: ....
"That's why we're working constructively with the city on reasonable, common-sense amendments to ensure telecommunications providers can extend service quickly across the city."
PROPOSAL:
"To safeguard existing cable service lines, new fiber lines installations shall intrude no closer than 50 (fifty) feet from existing cable service lines in any direction."
That should take care of the competition!
AMAZING what can happen with a little ACTUAL Competition! Just looks at the map and you'll find little, if any, overlap between Comcast, Charter, Cox, TWC and Cablevision. Google- FOR ONCE - actually IS living up to its motto of "Do No Evil" which, as the marvellous Isaac Asimov noted, covers inaction as well as action.
SO. If Competition is the cure all, we are seeking opening bids for a Nation/State level governing entity that can compete with and vie to provide services with the United States Federal Government. Seeing as it has a virtual monopoly here in the U.S. and has done SUCH a shoddy job and all, it would be a nice change to chat up a Minister of Parliament and get a response other than "How much did you give to my re-election committee, again?" I know- perhaps I'm a Dreamer and they're just ALL bad, but what, really, could possibly go wrong? Google Government?! Search States of America?
Ahhhh, the heady flush of Innovation... it's what this Country is all about!
Funny how that clause that gave ATT et al exclusive rights to tack their stuff into our utility poles and sewers is going by the wayside. The whole premise of ATT and buddies was that we pay for the maintnenance of the sewers and poles, and fix them immediately if a problem interferes with their signal, while they get to charge monopoly rates for cable.
It's time to cut the middle men out and local governments should include basic internet as part of the whole utility package.
Unfortunately Louisville / Jefferson county does not have regulatory authority over utility poles, a state board does. So Gov. Bevin gets a chance to extort TWC and AT&T for bribes to block this. He has already killed a Ky Broadband initiative.
You need an Icon for a politician with his hand out for "Campaign Contributions".
I've done underground for Google in Kansas City. In my area, Google inspectors were out in the field all day. Might as well buy a pressure washer now if you plan on doing any. Locators make mistakes and I did have a few "monkeys". For the most part, people were happy to put up with a few divots in their yards for Google fiber. One of my monkeys did hit a gas line with a breaker bar. That was "interesting". The fire department was onsite in 5 minutes, gas company in ten. I didn't even fire said "monkey".
I worked in Louisville as a commercial technician for TWC, mostly hooking up phone and internet for businesses. When I was "training" I watched another tech repeatedly tell customers to "get a vendor" to connect their equipment to the modems. For what they're paid by TWC you can't blame them. Made lots of side money but TWC wasn't real happy. You can't have a sub making decent money, it gives the other "monkeys" ideas. As far as TWC underground goes, their subs are way underpaid. Any decent sub should "steer clear". Most do. So you get what you'd expect. I haven't heard of any missiles hitting gas lines yet, but with TWC subs....
I love competition. It was good for the consumer (and sub) in KC. It could be good for both in Louisville.
Go Cardinals, I'm ready to burn some more couches. The bourbon is "right good round there", too. Need it this time of year. BTW, never call someone from Louisville a Yankee unless you really want to get in a fist fight. ;-)
I have both Comcast and Verizon FIOS available. There's absolutely zero competition in terms of price.
I have broadband-only service contract grandfathered from a reseller back when the law required that unbundled services to be available to resellers. I don't see any way to buy broadband-only service from either company today.
I've "cut the cord", so I don't need their "phone" service. And I'm not interested in their TV bundles, and neither offers "a la carte" for the TV channels that I'd actually care to watch. (For local channels OTA works just fine.)
Unfortunately the greater metropolitan area where I live consists of dozens of small towns and Google would have to negotiate with each one to serve the whole area, so it seems unlikely they'll come here any time soon, if ever.
If your *telephone* company installs fiber, then they can also begin to compete in the 'Cable TV' market. That's the secret sauce that can make the finances work (correct technology choice is another aspect). There's little incentive for the Cable TV companies to install FTTH. There's every incentive for the telephone company to enter the 'Triple Play' market, including TV service. They can pretty much double their cash flow overnight, by offering TV service. Also, people are willing to pay for improved ISP speed.
You can disagree and argue if you wish, but the facts are that our street has only a dozen houses on huge multi-acre lots, a mile from anything else, and several miles from the nearest Central Office (telephone building). Here we sit, lakefront forest paradise, with Gb fiber service available to us. We happen to subscribe to a cheaper package because 150 Mbps seems to be fine. For two years already, although the Gb option is more recent.
Having seen it done first hand, it's tiresome when so many others can't be bothered to follow the example.
Ref. Bell Aliant FibreOP. There may be other examples.
What pathetic excuses are left? Any further delay is just plain obstinance and/or 'not invented here'. Or perhaps pure ignorance of the successful examples that are busy rolling out already. Any given telephone company may not have finished yet (of course), but there's zero excuse for not having started already.
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