Google Fiber is starting to spread, Google just announced that they will be launching in Austin, TX
Why Google Fiber Matters
When new technology hits, there’s a lot of chatter. Especially if that new technology is coming from an Internet giant – like Google.
Over the past few years, Google has expanded its empire with new products, technology and innovation. Part of that innovation includes fiber Internet. You hear about it all the time, but do you really know why Google Fiber matters – or what fiber Internet is for that matter?
What you need to know about fiber Internet
Fiber Internet is just Internet service delivered via fiber optic cables. These cables are super-thin, super-smart and made of glass. They carry laser-generated pulses of light. Those light signals are translated into an electrical signal – a signal your computer can translate and understand. Fiber Internet is much faster than other Internet services, with speeds up to 1Gbps.
It sounds cool because it is. If you’ve heard anything about Google Fiber or FiOS (Verizon’s fiber optic services), you know that the biggest news is usually about which city is getting fiber Internet next. That’s because fiber networks have to be built – and that takes time.
Google has announced that Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah will get the Google Fiber treatment, but the rollout is slow going. In other areas of the country, Verizon continues to improve its fiber network too – it’s available in mostly large cities (Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York, etc.).
Community connections
Because fiber Internet is so fast (a gigabit is literally hundreds of times faster than a standard cable connection), it’s desirable. For companies. Small businesses. At home.
Google wants as many people as possible to get super-fast Internet, which is where Community Connections come in. Community Connection makes it possible for public and non-profits (selected by the city) to get gigabit Internet – for free.
It’s a great opportunity to bring faster fiber Internet to more people in more ways.
The future of fiber
The only downfall of fiber is the availability. The chances that Google Fiber offers national coverage seems time consuming, if not unlikely. The future of fiber comes along faster with Verizon’s Fios Internet, which has a bigger serviceable area.
It’s even possible that in the future, fiber Internet could help bring more jobs and jump-start innovative processes.
But is gigabit Internet on a fiber network as good as it gets? Can we top speeds that are already head and shoulders above cable providers? Of course we can.
An Internet service provider in Japan has already launched fiber Internet that reaches download speeds of 2 gigabits per second. It’s called the Nuro, and the craziest part? It’s not even that expensive (if you can look past the $500+ installation fee).
The bottom line is that as fast and as functional as our fiber Internet is now, the future is only going to be faster.
By: Christopher Beck
