Kansas City to get Google Fiber

Google made its foray into the market for bundled Internet and television services on Thursday, promising access speeds more than 100 times faster than those of traditional US cable and telecommunications companies, Reuters reports.

The Web search leader unveiled its ultra-high speed Google Fiber service in Kansas City, Missouri, and could start installations in September, executives said. Google hopes to roll out the service to other cities later.

PCWorld notes that even residents who do not want to pay for the fast service will benefit from the project: For a one-time $300 construction fee, which can be paid in instalments, they will be able to get free broadband at speeds comparable to DSL (digital subscriber line) service - 5Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream. But neighbourhoods where not enough residents pre-register for Google Fiber will not get it.

Google disclosed the details of Google Fiber on Thursday on its blog and on an information page about the project. The rollout will cover qualifying areas of Kansas City, Missouri, and neighbouring Kansas City, Kansas, which won out over more than 1 000 cities that applied for the service in 2010.

According to Wired, while Time Warner's Kansas City operation may have reason to fear a major new competitor to its own fat cables, long-time industry analyst Bruce Leichtman says cable and broadband companies have little to fear from Google nationally.

By laying its own fibre, Google in Kansas City has become what is known as an “overbuilder,” because they have installed their own wires over existing cable and telecom infrastructure. Leichtman says overbuilding is a notoriously tricky business that Google has no good financial reason to enter on a wide scale.