Google to trial 1Gbps fibre-to-the-home broadband

10 Feb 2010

Internet giant Google is planning to roll out internet speeds more than 100 times faster than most Americans get today of up to 1Gbps.

The company said last night that it is planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a number of trial locations across the US.

“We’ll deliver internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fibre-to-the-home connections,” the company said in its official blog.

“We plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

“Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make internet access better and faster for everyone.”

The company said the intention is to see what next-generation apps developers and users can make use of with ultra high-speed and see whether it’s worth creating new bandwidth-intensive ‘killer apps’ and services or other uses that haven’t yet been imagined.

The company also wants to test new ways to build fibre networks and help inform and support deployments elsewhere.

Google said it intends to operate an “open access” network, giving users the choice of multiple service providers.

The company said it will be putting out a request for information to help identify interested communities and welcomes responses from Government as well as the public.

“We plan to provide fibre to the home for at least 50,000 and potentially 500,000 people,” said Irishman James Kelly, product manager with Google.

In selected locations, we’ll offer connections up to 100 times faster than many Americans experience today.

“We’re doing this because we want to experiment with new ways to make the web better and faster for everyone, allowing applications that would be impossible today.”

By John Kennedy

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com