Google Fiber, the mind-blowing technology that promises to deliver a service 100 times faster than traditional broadband, launched in Kansas City, MO, citizens last week. If everything goes to plan, Google Fiber users should experience 1,000 Mbps download and upload speeds. But this won't be free. It’ll cost $300 to install this service and, after that, you will have to pay a monthly fee ranging from $70 to $120. Every Kansas City user who wants Google Fiber in their home is required to pay a $10 fee and needs to pre-register by Sept. 9. Google says it wants to know exactly which neighborhoods are interested in the service and will need a critical mass to build out its service beyond its current zones. Those neighborhoods that achieve the magic critical mass number will be notified Sept. 10. Personally, I'm happy to see that Google is taking a big step and wants to solve one of the biggest issues for U.S. Internet users - speed. Countries like South Korea, Romania or Bulgaria rock. These countries have one of the fastest, yet cheapest, Internet solutions. In Romania, for example, it only costs approximately $11 to have unlimited Internet access with connection speeds of 100 Mbps. The U.S., however, ranks 26
th with 600 Kbps worldwide when it comes to Internet access speeds. In the U.S., it's sad that companies charge you a lot and provide you with an awful Internet experience. It's not fair to charge a user $60 a month and deliver poor speeds of only 10-15 Mbps and cap the usage. Users often feel restrained if they want to use the Internet, or that they’ll have to pay more if they want to use it more often. The Internet should be offered cheap for everyone. Google's idea is nice, but it's also a little expensive. Check out the rates and see what you think:
- $120 per month is the Gigabit + TV package with 1TB of drive storage, Internet and a Nexus 7 tablet. It will include major broadcast networks, as well as on-demand movies and shows.
- $70 per month is the Gigabit Internet only package, which will provide Internet and 1TB of Google drive storage. No Nexus 7 tablet on this package.
- Free but limited monthly service. After paying the $300 installation cost, Google offers free Internet service for at least seven years but at a slower speed of up to 5Mbps download and 1Mbps upload speed.
- All installation packages include a network box which features 4 gigabit ethernet ports and Wi-Fi. The Gigabit + TV package also include a TV box and a Storage Box that has 2TB.
One of the good things about Google Fiber is it doesn't have any data limitations and could be paired together with a TV channels package. If enough users jump on Google Fiber, or ask the company to deliver the Fiber experience to their town, we might witness a great thing: lower prices and better Internet speeds. It should be interesting. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9v11qJTG8o]
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