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posted by on Friday October 28 2016, @11:34AM   Printer-friendly
from the if-google-doesn't-who-will dept.

Google Fiber is hitting the pause button on discussion with "potential fiber cities", and will lay off about 9% of its approximately 1,500 employees. Craig Barratt, the CEO of Alphabet's Access division, is also stepping down.

After rolling out its Fiber product in about a dozen cities, Google is hitting pause on its project to deploy superfast Internet across the country. The news may come as a disappointment to those who were hoping the search giant would bring competition and faster speeds to their area.

[...] Even as Google Fiber pays lots of money to lay down cables and secure access to TV programming, a different type of technology is coming down the pike: wireless fiber. [...] There are signs that Google is moving in this direction, too. In June, it acquired Webpass, a provider of wireless broadband. Other acquisitions support this theory. And in its announcement Tuesday, Google Fiber said it would be looking at "new technology and deployment methods to make superfast Internet more abundant than it is today." So even if Google Fiber is on hold in its current incarnation, changes in technology may someday reduce the costs Google faces today.

Comcast and AT&T are still trying to hinder Google Fiber access to utility poles in Nashville. Both ISPs have filed suit against the Metro Government of Nashville for passing a "One Touch Make Ready" ordinance that benefits Google Fiber.

Previously: Google Fiber Gets Rid of "Free" Service in Kansas City
Costly Google Fiber Service Being Scaled Back in Favor of Google Wireless
Nashville Officials Approve Ordinance to Give Google Fiber Faster Access to Utility Poles


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 28 2016, @09:51PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 28 2016, @09:51PM (#419968)

    something some idiot in marketing came up with

    ding ding ding! we have a winner.

    I sat in a few 'rollout' meetings where terms like this come up. We all looked at each other like 'wtf is that? oh marketing'.

    So glad I no longer work at that telecom. The BS is too much. They honestly 100% do not understand what their business is. They want to be like google. But have no idea why google is what it is. They honestly think if they imitate their development cycle they will turn themselves into google.

    Google on the other hand tried to go it alone. That works on a small scale. But on a large scale AT&T and Verizon will crush you like a bug in the telecom areas. They have an army of lawyers ready to make it wildly harder for you to enter the market. The laws are written to favor them. They have 100+ years of doing it. If google had teamed up with Apple and MS they could have given the two big telecoms a run for their money. Hubris, is not seeing you need help against 52 legislatures, FCC, and thousands of cities and counties. All of which is stacked against you to build new.

    Google sounds like they are trying to imitate the baby bells. Bad idea. The baby bells have no idea what makes them incumbent, yet they use it masterfully. If google was serious about smashing prices down and speed up they were going down the right path. Imitating the baby bells is like Ferrari trying to make ford escorts.

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