
Google Fiber laying off 9% of staff, will “pause” plans for 10 cities - jseliger
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/10/google-fiber-laying-off-9-of-staff-will-pause-plans-for-10-cities/
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pascalxus
This is really sad. If not even, google can do it, then who can? I guess
consumers will continue to be abused by ISPs for quite some time. I don't
blame At&t, they're just a vicious business taking advantage of a monopoly
given by politicians and law makers. Politicians should be blamed - elected
officials are supposed to have some kind of loyalty to their voter base.

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flukus
> This is really sad. If not even, google can do it, then who can?

Government. They're generally pretty good at building infrastructure.

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Digory
I bet that's what Google thought, too. My understanding, though, is that
Google only went to cities that agreed to clear all the red tape, in advance.

So this project should have had most of the 'power of government' efficiency,
short of the power of condemnation. I think the logistics and cost of last-
mile wiring surprised them.

While government can do it, too, this experiment seems to show [hard wired
fiber is] not financially feasible at $100/month to willing consumers. The
Government won't be cheaper at building here; just 'better' at subsidizing or
socializing the cost through taxes on people who wouldn't pay it otherwise.

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flukus
>While government can do it, too, this experiment seems to show it's not
financially feasible at $100/month to willing consumers.

It depends on what payback time they were expecting too. A government can
handle it even if it takes 20-30+ years. Or even never for some things (like
roads).

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Digory
Alphabet has access to better capital rates than most local governments, I
bet, and they could go decades without a dividend.

But, yeah, government can decide there's no need for a return. Businesses
mostly don't get rewarded for doing that.

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NotSammyHagar
Well shit. I guess I'm never getting out of comcast's thumb. In the Seattle
area, some places have century link / qwest 1 gb service, but most places do
not. A few apartment buildings have wireless "wave"/condointernet (best name
ever for an isp) that supports 1 gig. But the rest of us poor saps are shit
out of luck.

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ryanSrich
It's truly remarkable that in Portland my only option is Comcast, and even
then I have to keep a very close eye on my usage because they just implemented
data caps at 1 terabyte when I've far exceeded that on several occasions.

Century Link is not an option. I've tried their service and all around they
make Comcast look amazing.

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bogomipz
This is really unfortunate. All Google Fiber had to do in Austin was announce
their intentions and cable internet prices went down and speeds went up
practically overnight.

I don't hold much hope for metro broadband either, mostly due to law suits.

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Digory
Not surprising to see a shift to wireless, but it is interesting to see them
'pause' fiber before getting a wireless tech in place. It would have to be a
heck of a difference to justify a full stop.

Getting cables run in the real world must have been far more difficult for
them than they ever imagined. Which is, I suppose, why the division CEO is
leaving.

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lithos
Another new tech company realizing their show boating methodology doesn't work
as effectively once you're out of cyberspace.

On the bright side this isn't the complete end to the infrastructure that
enabled Google to do this originally. They are very likely to keep a lot of
their fiber team so they can use it for setting up their wireless
infrastructure (or at least leverage it if local interests try to play
hardball), likewise they'll need to keep some around for upkeep.

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totalZero
I don't see this as a bad move. They are still in several cities, and are
committed to opening up in several more. Meanwhile, Google also operates
Google Fi and is getting more involved in the mobile handset business.
Strategically, it seems like networking is still a push for them.

Sometimes companies are smart to take one step back and two steps forward.
Every project needs to refresh and redirect itself from time to time.

