Google looking to test fiber Internet at gigabit speeds for up to 500,000 people

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Google, Internet

Oh, hello there, crazy drool-worthy and inexpensive ultra high-speed Internet from Google! Yeah, that’s right, Google is looking to launch an experimental, ultra high-speed broadband network in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We are talking about Gigiabit fiber to the home speeds here. The only thing that currently comes close is Verizon FiOS, and their current download speed tops out at 50 megabits per second. Gigabit would be 1000 megabits (or, 128 MB) per second, which is just insultingly fast. Even better? They want to launch it at inexpensive prices in the launch/test cities. So, why would they do this, and what would be the benefit?

First, competition. Google wants to bring the price down while bringing the service level up, and they are putting their money where their mouth is and challenging other ISPs right on their home turf. If you had a choice between crazy-fast Google Internet and sucky Comcast, you’d likely end up going with Google in a heartbeat, since it’s like 200x faster, and less expensive. Second, Google is getting into the web apps business hard. It would be ideal for them for web applications and native desktop applications to have no difference in speed, and you can bet that they’d be deploying these tests to optimize the hell out of their web app products. Make no mistake, they want Google Docs to run just as fast in your browser as Microsoft Word runs when you launch it on your local machine.

We love this, and despite having a 50/20 FiOS connection, we want it badly. Google, bring this to Seattle, k?

Read More | Google Fiber for Communities

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Bleeding Edge TV 323: A look at Verizon FiOS TV with Twitter and Facebook integration

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Internet, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos

We’ve been fans of the Verizon FiOS Internet service for about two-and-a-half years now, and as soon as FiOS TV was available for Gear Live HQ, we were first in our area to subscribe to that service as well. Aside from the uncompressed signal that they send through, the service has some features that make it truly unique, like the integration of Facebook and Twitter right on the DVR. I had some of my friends over to show off FiOS TV, and we had the cameras going to capture it all. Hit play for a look at what went down. If you’re curious about Verizon FiOS, be sure to hit up the Facts on FiOS site for details.

A big thank you to Verizon for helping make the party happen!

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Japan Offers Hikari One Home Gigabit

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Internet, PC / Laptop

Some lucky Japanese Internetters are about to receive up to a 1 GBps fiber connection. The FTTH is offered by telco KDDI for about ¥5,560 (~$52.00) a month with additional telephone and premium TV channels offered for an additional fee. Hikari One Home Gigabit is in fact about $20.00 less than their current 100Mbit/s service. The router supports only 802.11b and g Wi-Fi thusfar.

Read More | Digital World Tokyo

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Verizon FiOS vs. Comcast: Feature-by-feature

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Internet

Ten days ago, Verizon FiOS TV officially launched here in Washington state. I was actually invited to speak at the launch event that took place that day, alongside Verizon representatives, and local government officials. I was specifically chosen as a case study of just how good FiOS is, since I literally moved specifically because Comcast was way too slow for the things we expected out of our Internet connection here at Gear Live HQ. It was an event meant to talk up the advantages of FiOS over cable (specifically, Comcast, in this area). Obviously, with FiOS looming over their territory, Comcast went into damage control mode to combat Verizon’s claims that they were the best option for Internet and television services. We were sent both the FiOS press release and the Comcast press release, and we figured we would respond to the claims of each, point-by-point.

For some background, we’ve been Comcast customers for over six years, for both Internet and television services. When we moved for FiOS 15 months ago, Comcast was still our cable television provider. As of today, I am a FiOS customer for both Internet and television, and as of 10 days ago, am no longer a Comcast customer. Now, on with the comparisons.

Click to continue reading Verizon FiOS vs. Comcast: Feature-by-feature

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