Google Fiber's $300 construction fee for unlimited 5 Mbps service plan will be discontinued:
Google Fiber is no longer offering free Internet service to any customer who wants it in Kansas City. While Google Fiber is most famous for its $70-per-month gigabit plan, customers could also get slow Internet—5Mbps downloads and 1Mbps uploads—without paying a monthly service fee. The plan required only a $300 construction fee that could be paid up-front or in 12 monthly installments of $25 each.
But that plan is now gone in Kansas City, Re/code reported yesterday. The free offer was still online as recently as Wednesday, but the current offers now begin at $50 a month for symmetrical 100Mbps service. The move coincides with Google expanding free Internet service for qualifying low-income customers. Instead of providing free Internet to anyone in Google's service area, the company will instead make targeted efforts to bring poor people online.
Related Stories
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
(Score: 1) by WalksOnDirt on Monday April 11 2016, @08:02AM
They previously promised "up to seven years" of free internet for paying the construction fee, whatever that means. As long as existing customers get their seven years they have no reason to complain.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by gargoyle on Monday April 11 2016, @08:39AM
"up to seven years" puts an upper boundary on how long the service would last, it doesn't give any indication of the lower boundary.
Common advertising weasel words which people generally read one way but if you think about what was actually stated does actually give any useful to someone using the service, and in fact it is used to limit the service being offered.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @12:09PM
While "up to seven years" doesn't promise that every customer will get seven years, I'd argue that if no customer is getting seven years, the promise is broken.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @02:15PM
They can just discontinue it for new customers and still provide it to existing customers until the seven year period for each customer is over.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Monday April 11 2016, @02:59PM
By that reasoning, they could cut it the month after they finish the service as they're still under 7 years, but they'd have to cut free service at 7 years because that would violate the promise. Seems to me that it's about time we rounded up the lawyers and marketers and sent them on a one way trip to Mars. Hopefully the martians don't send them back.
It's one thing to give the folks early in 7 years with people arriving later to the party only getting 5 or 6 for the money, that's somewhat understandable, but taking it to the logical conclusion would be ridiculous.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday April 11 2016, @07:02PM
FWIW when I signed up for ASDL I was promissed a speed "up to ...", and for the first 6 months it was at around 300 baud. It eventually became marginally tolerable, but, well, ...
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Monday April 11 2016, @09:11PM
That would be grounds for a lawsuit. That's definitely not a reasonable interpretation.
Speeds up to is a bit tricky because network conditions will vary and even in cases where the ISP is being completely honest about it, there'll be restrictions outside of their network that may drop the speeds.
But, if a line never hits the promised speed, that's fraud and ISPs that do that ought to be fined.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @08:29AM
If something is to blame it's how the Western economy works. Humankind created an ecosystem whose dominating beings (corporations) can screw any human moral law and get away with it. All corporations are doomed to become evil one day because at one point they *need* to do that to keep growing further, and in a world where investors have the last word on everything there is no such thing as "don't grow beyond that point".
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 11 2016, @09:01AM
I wonder if you would go further in-depth with your comment.
As I see it - Google gave away a great deal, in exchange for some help in building up infrastructure. Now, Google is ending that good deal, and they are going to charge the going rate for the services they offer. Both Google and customers gained something from the original deal, but in certain areas, the infrastructure is probably complete, or near complete. No need to continue the offer.
At the same time - Google is using resources to extend the infrastructure to the poor.
Please explain how all of that is evil?
Google may or may not be leaning more toward the dark side than in years past - that is a subject for another discussion. But, IN THIS CASE, Google has done absolutely nothing wrong that I can see.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @04:17PM
Please explain how all of that is evil?
Hitler banned animal cruelty in the 3rd Reich. That's a good thing. Therefore, Hitler did nothing wrong.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @08:33AM
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH!
Your comment violated the "postercomment" compression filter. Try less whitespace and/or less repetition.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @08:47AM
Ping is free on xfinitywifi. Just install a hans server in the cloud.
Hans - IP over ICMP [gerade.org]
Unlimited free service. You're welcome.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @11:53PM
So this Hans software lets you be a free rider on comcast's wifi system.
I guess that makes anyone using it a ... Hans Rider.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2016, @05:17AM
...
riderfs
ext3
ext2
ext4
...
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @10:25AM
The previous plan was not fit for purpose - providing free service to the poor. In fact, it was kind of the opposite. They had to come up with $300 which is a big chunk of money for someone living on food stamps. Even splitting it across s12 months was still a problem because all it would take is one emergency to suck up all free cash for months and now they've missed too many payments and it gets cancelled. A common problem for people who live crisis to crisis.
It isn't like the old plan is just being tossed out and that's that. They learned from the problems of the old service plan and are going full subsidy, zero cost, for people who are qualified. It's still not perfect, but it is a lot better of a design for the goal helping the poor get reliable internet access.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by opinionated_science on Monday April 11 2016, @11:59AM
Google is probably the *only* corporate attempt to break the ISP monopoly.
So much so , that just announcing they are setting up GF in the area, makes the incumbents scatter like cockroaches when the lights are turned on!
I wonder what percentage of the USA cannot access this ISP performance, no matter the price?
I suspect I am one of them (we have the fantasy comcast 2gb/$300 which they cannot tell if it is installed anywhere. ATT is still pushing DSL *3 Mbps HIGHSPEED/s * WTF?).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @02:20PM
The problem is that any small players simply don't have the resources to overcome the political barriers to entering the market. Politics is very expensive because incumbent ISPs spend a ton of money to get the laws that they want passed. and so it takes a big influential company with money and the ability to distribute their message to a large audience to overcome that. Little guys simply have no chance at entering the market with politics in the way.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @07:32PM
Tennessee is one of many places with bought-off politicians and an anti-competitive Internet access market.
They won't even let the existing noteworthy system in Chattanooga be expanded.
...so, to get what he wanted, he spent $400,000. [google.com]
That was still just a third of what the ISPs quoted him.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2016, @04:22PM
Media bias? Have you looked recently who is "media"? ISPs!!!
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday April 11 2016, @09:27PM
The move coincides with Google expanding free Internet service for qualifying low-income customers.
Man, the less fortunate get all the breaks!
Instead of providing free Internet to anyone in Google's service area, the company will instead make targeted efforts to bring poor people online.
Bastards! Do no evil, indeed.