I think one of the best things about Google Fiber is actually how it is shining a light on the levels of bureaucracy in our governments and the ways they can either be a catalyst or an impediment to progress, innovation, etc.<p>I don't necessarily want more government or less government--I want better government, and more transparency on when our government is working or failing is helpful for getting there.
> Can you imagine the Seattle City Council keeping a secret like this and then acting on it in just one day? Of course not. We’d need to have endless community meetings and hearings and public floggings of Google Executives.<p>Not to mention Kshama Sawant grandstanding about completely irrelevant topics. I can't understand how she got elected.
I don't even really want Google Fiber in Seattle - I want us to step up our game and make high speed internet a public utility.<p>But, alas, this article still hits on all the main points as to why this will never happen.
Seattle has Condo Internet and Cascade Link. Both provide gigabit. The Gigabit Squared thing fell apart.<p>Condo Internet uses a combination of microwave and fiber to provide connectivity to the buildings that they service. They only target apartments/condos, since building the infrastructure to individual residences is not worth it.
Near my house the power runs on poles through a wooded area. Every year, when the wind blows, trees fall on it and take out the power. Sometimes twice a year. They're always out there replacing broken poles and pulling new wire.<p>I call the power company up now and then and suggest they bury the wire in the section. Or sometimes I'll suggest to the linemen as I pass them putting in a new pole. They get rid of me with some excuse they made up on the spot, and nothing changes.
Sounds like the analogies of Seattle being the San Francisco of the northwest (or vice versa) are correct... we have the same issues with bureaucracy, progress-fearing residents, etc. I actually thought I was reading the Pando article from a week ago (<a href="http://pando.com/2014/02/25/having-being-burned-once-before-google-wont-bring-fiber-to-san-francisco/" rel="nofollow">http://pando.com/2014/02/25/having-being-burned-once-before-...</a>), and someone just did a s/san francisco/seattle.
Time Warner increased speeds in Austin after Google Fiber was announced? I guess that doesn't apply to either my home or work connection, they're both still as shitty as ever.
> So is all hope lost for Google Fiber in Seattle? What would it take to entice Google here?<p>> We’ve considered spending the $700 million or more it would cost to build our own fiber network, which might provide a billion dollars in benefits each year.<p>Why do we want Google Fiber in cities so badly? What's the benefit over building your own network, or partnering with someone like Gigabit Squared?
Why Google Fiber will never come to Los Angeles [0]<p>[0] - <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/5/5070520/los-angeles-planning-to-bring-free-fiber-based-internet-to-its-residents" rel="nofollow">http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/5/5070520/los-angeles-planni...</a>
The article is a little unfair to Seattle. Note the alacrity with which the city clamped down on Lyft and Uber - clearly you can get <i>some</i> things done here if you know the right people.
I've asked this question before [1].<p>Why does Google's proposed fiber map [2] include not a single city in the northeast or the Rust Belt?<p>Chicago, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh are all major cities that are at least "on the map" as far as tech is concerned. I know for a fact that the local authorities in Detroit, Cincinnati and Cleveland would bend over backwards for any project that has even the slightest whiff of economic development.<p>I can understand NYC being a special case that they don't want to deal with, but there are plenty of other cities in the region.<p>[1] <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7265600" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7265600</a><p>[2] <a href="https://fiber.google.com/newcities/" rel="nofollow">https://fiber.google.com/newcities/</a>
The truth is that most places in the US have multiple layers of local and state levels of bureaucracy that make it extremely difficult for anyone who has not paid the "franchise fees" to string fiber. Even wireless is difficult since you need fiber to cell sites and all the same hurdles make it ridiculously expensive to get fiber to the towers. This is a problem that it almost impossible to solve on a large level since it is all controlled by municipalities and state puc's. This is why most people will never see GF or similar cheap Broadband in this country for a long time if ever.
Didn't pioneer square just roll out broadband like a year or two ago on the city's dime because at $60k rollout cost none of the cable companies wanted to touch it? And that's supposed to a be a small business and startup friendly enclave!