Yeah, but that growth is mostly outward/sprawling in nature, which is obviously hard to run cables for. To answer your question, both cities are significantly larger than Houston, but more importantly, they're a lot more dense. Chicago has 11,868 people per square mile, Los Angeles has 7,544 people per square mile, and Houston has 3,515.
If/when those cities get the permission and promises from the cities that the will indeed follow all of Google's protocols it will be a couple of years before the jobs even start. I work on all Google Fiber jobs and we're just now starting Charlotte. This one was announced in 2013. Orlando and Tampa may also be the next cities announced.
It looks like the Google Fiber dream is coming to an end. I was really hoping they could make a difference but I just couldn't see it happening. I will get lambasted for this, but there simply is not a significant enough demand for true high speed internet (50+ Mbps). People want reliable internet over faster internet. Tech savy people will demand superfast internet, but the reality is they only account for a small portion of users. As long as Netflix runs smooth, nobodys going to fuss. Googles fixed based wireless initiative will also be a disappointment if they try to make a big ado about it like fiber. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/google-slashed-size-fiber-business-150327369.html
They'd attract more subscribers if they were available more broadly. I think the metric to look at is market share where they are available. Which may be low... Who knows. My neighborhood (Austin) recently opened up for signups in the fall. So I've signed up. No clue when it will happen. Interestingly just after that an ATT rep came by asking if I wanted info on ATT gigapower.
Seems unfortunate. I had high hopes for it too. I'm going to give EnTouch's gigabit internet a try when I get the chance next year.
Their own fault. They chose the dumbest of places to lay cable. Theyd have 500k if they just laid cable in Houston.
As mentioned, the demand just isnt there. Running utilities after is insanely expensive. To make it worthwhile,you almost need the entire neighborhood to sign up. Then you have to deal with those who may want it later.
The problem in Austin is it's very limited area (as mentioned) and some people who have signed up couldn't even get them out there to setup the service. It's been a bad rollout, pushed back dates of install, just a mess. The good news is it did get TWC and AT&T to get off their asses, I just wish the rollout was smoother for Google. The demand is there (especially when the price was beating at&t and TWC at the time) they just failed at rolling it out at a good rate and at&t suddenly had huge coverage with a larger workforce, I also loved how TWC suddenly had 300mbit. If you look at coverage maps AT&T dwarfs Google on gigabit, unfortunately Google got screwed on easy rollout (I want to say existing companies weren't playing nice with how our stupid centralized offering of utilities works). I do know if you have the right hardware (ssd) and are downloading from sites (like steam/torrent etc) you can max the connection so it's pretty sweet, unfortunately reg ftp's usually cap at about 1-200 mbit. So... I'd say if Google did pick houston it'd be the same cluster **** of hoops to jump through, thanks mainly to how these existing companies basically have a monopoly on an area.
I live in Southwest Austin and they are working in my neighborhood as I type this, installing Google Fiber. It's cheaper that what we have now, Time/Warner, with faster speeds and more premium channels for less bread. My big issue is, how do I watch the ****ing Rockets? I called and they don't carry League Pass, and they don't carry another source for Rockets games. Heck, they also don't carry NBAtv. I've been shelling out for that and LP for years. How can I watch all the games (and I watch all the games) if I sign up for GF? Not to mention that it could take up to 3 months top get it installed and working. Hopefully less time, but who knows? WTF? I want GF, but not at the cost (considerably higher) of losing my source(s) for the Rockets.
Get a chromecast and cast league pass from your computer/phone/tablet to your TV? Or buy a Roku device.
Yeah, stream it. Lots of us in sw Austin it looks like. They are getting close to my house but not quite here yet. I signed up and put down the deposit. Hopefully soon, ready to ditch att.
My apartment just installed the Google Fiber infrastructure. Going to be able to sign up for it in November. Can't wait to get rid of Time Warner.
Yeah, this is exactly what my I was talking about... Slow rollout, the great news (aside from no league pass) is that there's no caps and can try other options on streaming . I'm on TWC and do hit the full 300 mbit on p2p/steam but run all my own switches/routers etc. I'm looking forward to Google some day, but am not interested in gigapower with the amount of data used monthly at my house... I mean I'd love the speedboost, but would hit at&t limit x 3 easy. Hopefully Google keeps going and gets better. I read some article recently about a writer for pc magazine (I think) running 2 gb at his house.. He had router worth like $1500 which is getting crazy for home use vs office. Anyway the guy was maxing the connection on steam and few other spots.. was insane
Ouch, man... I guess I can't complain about 300+ mbit.. I think on steam lately I've hitting like 360mbit (45 MB/s), dling a 60 gig game in about 30 minutes. Hopefully you get more broadband options soon!
Thanks, guys. I've got Roku streamers and have signed up for a single team (Rockets, of course!), so just need a game to watch. "Likes" coming your way!
