Joining the likes of Provo (UT), Austin (TX), Shawnee (KS), and Raytown (MO) on the list of luckiest towns in the world is Gladstone (MO). Why is it lucky? Because it has been added to the list of official locales to receive Google Fiber in the future. Even with their city council voting in the service last night, Google notes that it will be some time before Gladstone sees the ultra-fast fiber internet, but that doesn’t make us any less jealous.

Anyone live in Gladstone?

Via:  Google Fiber

Gladstone, MO Added to the Official Google Fiber List is a post from: Droid Life

An area called Grandview in South Kansas City, Missouri received approval yesterday for Google Fiber. The city’s board voted to bring the service to their town, but much like every other city that is getting approval, we don’t know when exactly roll out could take place. Google says they still have lots of planning and engineering to do first, so it could be quite a while.

Let us congratulate the newest members of our American population to be graced with Google’s Fiber service. Hey Google, I hear Portland would be totally awesome with Fiber.

Via: Google Fiber Blog

Grandview, Missouri Gets Approved For Google Fiber is a post from: Droid Life

City officials in Raytown, MO announced that they have struck a deal with Google to possibly bring Fiber, the 1Gbps Internet and TV service to their residents. Raytown sits just outside of Kansas City, where Fiber first took off early last year. A vote to officially offer the service could take place as soon as May, but even if it is then approved, who knows how long it would take to see construction begin. 

In addition, city officials voted and Google Fiber has the green light in Shawnee, Kansas. Shawnee, much like Raytown, lies just outside of Kansas City.

We still have a lot of planning and engineering work to do before we’re ready to bring Fiber to Shawnee, so we don’t have an estimate for when service will be available yet. We’ll be sure to publish an update here as soon as we have it.

It seems that Fiber is starting to take off in a few communities, which is a great sign for anyone hoping to get it in their town.

Via: Kansas City

Google Fiber Headed to Raytown, Missouri and Shawnee, Kansas is a post from: Droid Life

When Google Fiber was announced for Provo, UT, details were unknown on the total cost to Google to buy out the city’s already in-place fiber optic network, iProvo. Today, details are out and it isn’t as high as one might initially think. In total, Google is set to pay a single dollar ($1) to the city of Provo for the network. The real cost will come in an agreement that Google has made with city hall to have the network fully built out within five years. 

The build out is estimated at roughly $30 million, which still won’t be too hard on Google’s wallet.

Via: Engadget

Purchase Details Revealed For Google Fiber in Provo, Costs Google $1 is a post from: Droid Life

As reported this morning, the announcement just made by Provo’s mayor has confirmed that the Utah city will be the third city to sport Google Fiber. The task of bringing Fiber to Provo should not be too hard, as Google is to acquire iProvo for an undisclosed amount, an already existing fiber optic network owned by the city. 

Here’s a section taken from Google’s official blog on the matter.

In order to bring Fiber to Provo, we’ve signed an agreement to purchase iProvo, an existing fiber-optic network owned by the city. As a part of the acquisition, we would commit to upgrade the network to gigabit technology and finish network construction so that every home along the existing iProvo network would have the opportunity to connect to Google Fiber. Our agreement with Provo isn’t approved yet—it’s pending a vote by the City Council scheduled for next Tuesday, April 23. We intend to begin the network upgrades as soon as the closing conditions are satisfied and the deal is closed.

We have seen roll out of Fiber start to pick up, so let’s cross our fingers that this trend possibly continues throughout America.

Via: Google Blog

It’s Official, Google Fiber Headed to Provo, Utah is a post from: Droid Life

Apparently, there is an “epic announcement” taking place this afternoon in Provo, Utah. According to reports out of the city, Google is set to announce Provo as the third area to support their 1Gbps Internet service, Google Fiber. 

So, what makes Provo, UT so special? A move into Provo would be easier than almost any other location, given the fact that the city is already wired for fiber optic, thanks to the work of a now-gone company called iProvo. iProvo brought ultra-fast data to the town, but due to financial issues, had to call it quits. The project was taken over by Veracity and is currently Utah County’s leading fiber-optic service.

The announcement is set to take place today at 1:30 PM. We’ll keep you posted.

Via: Provo Buzz | Epic Announcement

Cheers Elliot, Karson, and Travis!

Next Stop For Google Fiber is Provo, Utah? is a post from: Droid Life

In some type of twisted dark humor, AT&T announced today their plans to bring a 1Gbps Internet service to the city of Austin, TX. If you have been following the news of Google Fiber, they too made their expansion into the city of 820K residents official yesterday morning. So, for anyone not living in Austin, TX this must just seem like the worst thing ever. 

While Google has already stated that homes can begin getting set up for Fiber in mid-2014, AT&T has yet to give any type of time frame. What the company is highlighting currently is that they too will receive the same terms and conditions as Google has in regards of “geographic scope of offerings, rights of way, permitting, state licenses and any investment incentives.”

If you ask me, this just isn’t fair.

AUSTIN, Texas, April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) said today that it is pleased to see local communities and municipalities acknowledging the promise and power of economic development associated with telecommunications investment.

“Most encouraging is the recognition by government officials that policies which eliminate unnecessary regulation, lower costs and speed infrastructure deployment, can be a meaningful catalyst to additional investment in advanced networks which drives employment and economic growth,” said Randall Stephenson , AT&T chairman and CEO.

Today, AT&T announced that in conjunction with its previously announced Project VIP expansion of broadband access, it is prepared to build an advanced fiber optic infrastructure in Austin, Texas, capable of delivering speeds up to 1 gigabit per second.  AT&T’s expanded fiber plans in Austin anticipate it will be granted the same terms and conditions as Google on issues such as geographic scope of offerings, rights of way, permitting, state licenses and any investment incentives. This expanded investment is not expected to materially alter AT&T’s anticipated 2013 capital expenditures.

AT&T consistently invests in U.S. communities – $98 billion in capital in the past five years, more than any other public company — and remains committed to working with any metropolitan community to reach agreement on incentives to improve the climate and speed of overall telecommunications infrastructure investment – facilitating both wired and wireless broadband access. Our potential capital investment will depend on the extent we can reach satisfactory agreements.

Via: PR Newswire

AT&T Announces Plans to Bring Gigabit Internet Service to Austin, TX is a post from: Droid Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

It was made official yesterday that Google Fiber would be coming to Austin, Texas. While I don’t find it fair at all, the folks down there are as excited as ever, and Google is finally releasing more details about the roll out. According to their post, homes won’t begin to be setup until mid-2014. That seems like quite the wait, but it should be completely worth it. 

Our goal is to start connecting homes in Austin by mid-2014. Customers there will have a similar choice of products as our customers in Kansas City: Gigabit Internet or Gigabit Internet plus our Google Fiber TV service with nearly 200 HD TV channels. We’re still working out pricing details, but we expect them to be roughly similar to Kansas City.

Also, as in Kansas City, we’re going to offer customers a free Internet connection at 5 mbps for 7 years, provided they pay a one-time construction fee. We’re also planning to connect many public institutions as we build in Austin— schools, hospitals, community centers, etc. — at a gigabit for no charge. If you live in Austin and want to sign up for more information, please visit our website.

To go along with the announcement, Google released a video for the occasion. There is even a shot of Sergey Brin in there, but I am pretty sure it’s his doppelgänger since he isn’t wearing Google Glass. No way can that be him.

Via: Google Blog

Google Releases Further Details About Google Fiber Rollout in Austin, TX is a post from: Droid Life

It’s official – Austin, Texas is the new home of the Google Fiber expansion. As was rumored last week, Google is set to bring the gigabit Internet service to the town sometime in the relative future, but there was no specific date given. Austin now joins company with Kansas City, the first city to host the service. 

Again, no specifics on rollout were given yet, but once Google releases word, we will update you.

Who already has the moving truck scheduled?

Via: Engadget

Google Fiber Officially Headed to Austin, TX is a post from: Droid Life

Oh my goodness. Looks as though the time has come for Google’s gigabit Internet service, Fiber to finally expand beyond its small realm of Kansas City. It’s about time, Google! According to a statement, the city of Austin, Texas and Google have a very important announcement to make on April 9th, with almost everyone who runs the city in attendance. While Google did not come out and say it is for Fiber just yet, The Verge speculates that there is already enough evidence to come to that conclusion. 

For starters, geographically it makes sense, Eric Schmidt said expansion was going to take place, and Austin is already home to some very large companies that would probably love to partner with Google in this venture such as Dell, Samsung, and Intel.

Below is the statement in its entirety.

On Tuesday, April 9, at 11 a.m., the City of Austin and Google will make a very important announcement that will have a positive impact on Austinites and the future of the city. We anticipate more than 100 community leaders and elected officials to be in attendance to celebrate this announcement. The event invitation is attached for your convenience. Although we cannot share the details of the announcement with you in advance, we know readers will want to learn more, so we encourage you to join us on Tuesday.

Well, congrats to Austinites! Kellex and myself are already considering the perks of living in Texas instead of the chilly Northwest.

Via: The Verge

Google to Announce Fiber for Austin Next Week, Rest of Us Feel Left Out is a post from: Droid Life

As much as we’d all like to have Google’s Fiber internet and TV service in our homes, only the lucky few that live in the suburbs of Kansas City get to have it. However, it would seem that Google wants to tease the rest of us by releasing the Google Fiber app to Google Play. You can download it, but you can’t even toy around with the app unless you have Fiber associated with your Google account. 

If you are lucky enough to use this app, you can browse channel guides to see what’s on at the moment and you can even watch on-demand content right on your tablet or phone. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that most readers of this website would seriously consider Fiber if it came to their town (if you don’t live in KC) and this kind of app to interact with the service would make it even better.

Play Link

Via: Engadget

Google Posts Fiber App to Google Play, Won’t Let You Play With It Unless You Have Fiber is a post from: Droid Life

Not that this is a total shocker and given that Google Fiber currently only serves a single city, Netflix has ranked America’s Internet service providers based on their average streaming speeds. Currently, Fiber outperforms all of America’s other offerings like FiOS, Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, and basically everybody else in existence by a hefty margin. 

In terms of speeds, Fiber pulls on average a 2.55MBps stream while coming in at second is FiOS at 2.19MBps. As advertised, Google’s service provides up to 1Gbps in total download speeds on a fiber optic connection, but thanks to throttling, those numbers are also different than what we would see in an actual test. You have to take in that this is just streaming from Netflix and not an overall tell for who is the best. Now go, feel free to wonder why this one is faster than that one and etc. Don’t forget to squabble about the difference between MBps and Mbps as well.

Via: Engadget

Netflix Ranks ISP Speeds, Google Fiber Beats Out Comcast and Verizon’s FiOS is a post from: Droid Life

According to Goldman Sachs, the best estimate for how much it would cost Google to have a complete Google Fiber roll out to the United States would cost roughly $140 billion. That’s $140,000,000,000. That’s a lot of zeros. Technically, Google’s yearly budget for such projects is $4.5 billion, which means we could be waiting quite some time before others outside of Kansas City experience 1Gbps download and upload speeds.

Other estimates were done to see how much the cost would amount to if they decided to only light up half of America, which still equaled to about $70 billion. That’s just $25 billion over the amount of cash that Google has on hand during any given day of the week.

Come on, Apple. Lend a helping hand?

Via: BGR

Full U.S. Roll Out of Google Fiber Would Cost Google $140 Billion is a post from: Droid Life

According to the Wall Street Journal, Dish Network is looking to build out its own wireless service thanks to spectrum that it acquired back in 2008. While it has talked to multiple potential partners, one of them should get you excited – Google. A source close to the matter said that the talks between the two were not advanced and that they could lead to nothing, however, it’s certainly an area that makes sense on a number of levels for Google. The idea here, is to create a network that could rival AT&T and Verizon. 

Why does it make sense, you ask? For one, Google is clearly at odds with the current state of the wireless service business here in the U.S. Their Nexus program appears to be aimed at undercutting and subverting all that Verizon and AT&T stand for. They want you to be able to buy a phone at a reasonable price, but not have to sign a contract, hence the pricing of the Nexus 4 at $299. Google also wants you to be able to buy a phone first and choose a carrier second, something that carriers want no part of.

Beyond phones and service though, Google has an interest in its own wireless service because they are big supporters of net neutrality. For those not familiar, I’ll try to briefly explain. Big carriers, namely Verizon, wants to control every aspect of their network, including how, when and what you access on the internet. They want to be able to load this web page faster than that web page, or sign a deal with this search provider over that one to make it your default. Those are tiny examples, but you can see what would happen should Verizon win the net neutrality battle.

Google, on the other hand, is completely for net neutrality, and has shown by spending millions at the government level to try to keep the web open. With their own wireless service, they not only have a way to enforce net neutrality, but they may have a bigger say in the regulation of it.

Last, if Google were to approach a wireless service like they have done with Google Fiber in Kansas City, then it would probably be the greatest wireless service known to man.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Via:  WSJ

Cheers Jeff and everyone else who sent this in!

Google to Create Own Wireless Service in Partnership With Dish? is a post from: Droid Life

It’s a beautiful day in the Fiberhood, it’s a beautiful day for Fiber! Yesterday, Google flipped the switch on Google Fiber in Kansas City, Kansas. Needless to say, the DL offices are in the middle of packing and getting ready to move on out for the crazy high download and upload speeds that have hit the Midwest. The first to get Fiber were some local start-up businesses that are reporting 700Mbps downloads, faster than any other ISP’s speeds, by over 100x.

If this is the first you are hearing of Fiber, allow me to catch you up. Google is lining the streets of Kansas City with fiber optic cable, which for a price, is then wired to your house. Early adopters are receiving very good pricing, as for just $120/month on a two-year contract, Google gives you 1Gbps download/upload speeds, a TV box with full channel lineup, a network box, 1TB of Google Drive space, a DVR box, and a Nexus 7 tablet to control it all. From there, the plans get cheaper, but all still offer the 1Gbps Internet speeds.

Naturally, everyone wants this to be in their town. I wouldn’t hold your breath though, as Google has given no word or even hinted that they’re looking to start thinking about bringing this to other parts of the country.

Congrats, Kansas.

Via: Fox4

Cheers Duke69111!

Google Fiber Goes Live in Kansas City, Delivering 700Mbps Downloads On Day One is a post from: Droid Life