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Google Fiber Revealed, Sounds Incredible
Google has pulled back the curtain on its new gigabit fiber optic internet and television service.
First off, Google Fiber is only available in the test location of Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas). Google put out the call to many cities around the U.S. and K.C. won out. The rest of us will just have to sit back and drool at what it can do.
The most robust package is shown above. It includes one gigabit upload and download speed internet ("100 times faster than today's average broadband," Google claims. No data caps), loads of TV channels (including Comedy Central, Discovery, Food Network), all of the boxes required for internet and TV, and a free Nexus 7 Tablet. Subscribers also get 1 terabyte of Google Drive cloud storage (1,000 GB) included in the package and 2 TB of local storage for up to 500 hours of HD television. Up to 8 shows can be recorded simultaneously. The Nexus 7 serves as a remote for TV controls and can be used to watch all stored and live content as well. Other Android and iOS tablets will also get apps to facilitate this functionality. With a 2 year contract Google will wave the $300 construction fee and charge a flat $120 a month.
For people who just want gigabit internet, they'll also get free installation and 1 TB of cloud storage for $70.
People who are not quite ready to go full gigabit can just pay the $300 construction fee to get the fiber optic connection and will receive free normal internet speed for at least 7 years (5Mbps download, 1Mbps upload). Users can also space the payments out for a year at $25 a month.
Kansas Citians can pre-register now for the service for $10 to help rank up their neighborhood so that it gets connected sooner. These priority "fiberhood" rankings will close on September 9 and then people in the winning areas will be able to schedule installation appointments.
I can't even imagine browsing the web or downloading/playing games over internet speeds that quickly. If this were in Minneapolis I'd be pre-registering immediately. Google isn't discussing branching out to other cities at this point, but it's got to be in the game plan as long as things are successful in Kansas.
Do any of you live in Kansas City? Are you planning to sign up for Google Fiber?
Check out the official site for more information.
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