Google Officially Announces Fiber For Austin, Texas

Google has finally made it officialAustin will be the second city, after Kansas City, for Google Fiber, its high-speed broadband Gigabit internet and TV service.

Austin’s Mayor Lee Leffingwell made the announcement.

“There is one particular resource we need that we’ve heard loud and clear that can help make our city more innovative and make it stronger,” he said.

“We’re here because speed matters,” Milo Medin, VP of Google Fiber, said at the event today, pinpointing that it’s not often the matter of speed of the software and services that companies like Google develop, but infrastructure that is to blame when things are slow. “It’s the foundation for future innovation on the web.” Medin also puts some of his thoughts down in an official Google Fiber blog post.

position=left

The goal is to start connecting homes in Austin by mid-2014. Customers there will have a similar choice of products as the customers in Kansas City: Gigabit Internet or Gigabit Internet plus our Google Fiber TV service with nearly 200 HD TV channels. Google is still working out pricing details which are expected to be roughly similar to Kansas City.

Also, as in Kansas City, Google going to offer customers a free Internet connection at 5 mbps for 7 years, provided they pay a one-time construction fee.

A report published by analysts at the investment bank Bernstein yesterday noted that it would cost Google $11 billion if it decided to go for a medium-sized national rollout, covering 20 million people. That’s just for laying down infrastructure; the costs would go up by much more when marketing and then linking up homes and businesses to that network get factored in.

The Internet is still young and just starting to grow. Gigabit Internet will be something to look out for.

Prateek Panda

Prateek is the Founder of TheTechPanda. He's passionate about technology startups and entrepreneurship and enjoys speaking to new founders every day. Prateek has also been consistently regarded as one of the top marketing experts in the region.

Recent Posts

Striking a balance between digital independence & online safety for kids

Parenting is never an easy task. Ask any parent today about the biggest challenge, and…

12 hours ago

Why everything is a subscription now & what it means for your wallet

In the last decade, purchasing and accessing products and services have undergone a radical transformation.…

4 days ago

Mumbai students win big at robotics championship in Chicago, headed to world finals

In an exceptional achievement, Mumbai-based high school robotics team Sigma 9692 has won the prestigious…

4 days ago

Indian gaming shifts from audience to creator “given India’s mobile-first gaming capabilities”

The Indian gaming industry is sitting on an industry explosion in the near future as…

5 days ago

Transforming modern business operations: How Microsoft 365’s AI Integration is automating HR workflows & enhancing employee experiences

In today's fast-paced business world, when employee fulfillment and efficiency are crucial, technology has become…

5 days ago

Outbound & inbound: India attracts businesses from UK, China & US while expanding to Middle East

The Tech Panda takes a look at how India has been attracting foreign businesses from…

6 days ago