Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Sunday February 10 2019, @04:23AM   Printer-friendly
from the they-couldn't-dig-it dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

Google Fiber's biggest failure: ISP will turn service off in Louisville

Google Fiber will turn off its network in Louisville, Kentucky and exit the city after a series of fiber installation failures left cables exposed in the roads. Google Fiber's customers in Louisville will have to switch ISPs and will get their final two months of Google Fiber service for free to help make up for the disruption.

Google Fiber went live in Louisville late in 2017, just a few months after construction began. The quick turnaround happened because Google Fiber used a shallow trenching strategy that is quicker than traditional underground fiber deployment and doesn't require digging giant holes. Instead of a foot-wide trench, a micro-trench is generally about an inch wide and four inches deep. In Louisville, Google Fiber reportedly was burying cables in "nano-trenches" that were just two inches deep.

But Louisville residents soon found exposed cables, as a WDRB article noted in March 2018. "When you're walking around the neighborhood, [the lines are] popping up out of the road all over the place," resident Larry Coomes said at the time. "People are tripping over it."

In August 2018, Google Fiber announced a plan to fix the problem, WDRB reported at the time. But Google Fiber never quite got it right, and yesterday the Alphabet-owned ISP announced that it will leave the city in a blog post titled "Saying Goodbye to Louisville."Google Fiber is now in Louisville thanks to new fiber deployment strategy

"As we told our customers today, we will be turning off the network on April 15 and their next two months of service are on us," Google Fiber wrote, pledging to "work with our customers and partners to minimize disruption."


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Sunday February 10 2019, @04:19PM (4 children)

    by cubancigar11 (330) on Sunday February 10 2019, @04:19PM (#799131) Homepage Journal

    The way it worked in India was that they have a very large number of utility poles [wikipedia.org] everywhere so they can put wire above the ground where necessary. The other thing was that nobody in India complains if wires shoot out in the sidewalk, people just walk on the streets.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 10 2019, @09:22PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 10 2019, @09:22PM (#799224)

    But there is a risk of electrocution when they squat down to shit on the sidewalk.

    • (Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday February 10 2019, @11:06PM (2 children)

      by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Sunday February 10 2019, @11:06PM (#799260) Homepage Journal

      Not electrocution, not with optic fibre.

      • (Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Monday February 11 2019, @10:45AM

        by PiMuNu (3823) on Monday February 11 2019, @10:45AM (#799464)

        It's funny how all the racist comments show such a high level of stupidity. Correlation?

      • (Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Monday February 11 2019, @05:37PM

        by cubancigar11 (330) on Monday February 11 2019, @05:37PM (#799635) Homepage Journal

        Haha! Gives another meaning to shitty internet connection :D

        But seriously, I read an article in 2013 explaining how lack of strong governance in India has given rise to jugaad [wikipedia.org] or hacky solutions. That article was pro-libertarian, going as far as calling India the best example of success of libertarianism, but it got me thinking - lack of governance does give more freedom to individuals. You do get to reach your destination faster if you know how to bribe the traffic police, and other people get the right to stone you to death if they can finally get away with it (because at the end there is some government).