Online goliath Google has been keeping busy as it has recently turned its versatile hand to mobile operating systems (Android) social networking (Buzz) and smartphones (Nexus One). According to Google, it will soon build and test an ultra-high-speed broadband platform in a selection of trial locations across the United States, which will result in the delivery of Internet speeds up to 100 times quicker than current standards
Google has this week announced plans to redefine current Internet performance with a blazing fast experimental fiber network. On search engine and Google related newsgroups, they report that Google has a goal “to experiment with new ways to improve access to the Internet and make it faster for everyone.”
ISPs have traditionally considered selling voice minutes and, of late, data bundles. While so-called “over-the-top” services from Internet players such as Google have threatened ISP revenues from additional services, their core networks were never under threat. That is now set to change. Google will launch several experiments across the United States by deploying optical fiber. The search giant/world power announced it will build and test one-gigabit-per-second fiber connections to at least 50,000 homes in various locations across the US. The trial could expand to as many as 500,000 homes, according to the post. Google asked cities and states interested in joining the experiment to apply to Google by March 26 and said it eventually would build the network in a number of U.S. locations.
“We don’t think we have all the answers – but through our trial, we hope to make a meaningful contribution to the shared goal of delivering faster and better Internet for everyone,” the company said. It says it wants software developers to come up with applications, including “uses we can’t yet imagine.” Hopefully, some if not many of them could be USENET related.
Google has slowly been crossing paths with ISPs, a fact that’s been more than obvious from its series of forays over the course of recent years. However, while ISPs have always looked at Google with a sense of alarm, this latest announcement is likely to set a firm line in the sand with other ISPs.
Some newsgroup subscribers have double-checked with Google to see if a fast wireless overlay could be deployed as part of the experiment. A replied post by a Google spokesperson states: “Google’s focused on fiber-to-home right now and has no current plans for additional deployments,”
It is quite possible that Google will back down from its stated “experiment” after the initial rollout. But it’s more likely that Google will continue with a phased rollout program until it can generate enough panic amongst the ISPs to create what it set out to create. Google has had mixed results with its previous efforts to provide communitywide Internet access. In 2006, the company launched a Wi-Fi network in its hometown of Mountain View, calling the move at the time “a way for us to give back to and engage with the community.” But Google’s efforts to provide free wireless Internet access throughout San Francisco fell apart in 2007, when Google’s partner, EarthLink, backed out of the deal.
