Google Fiber Goes Live

Game changer: One Gbps

By Leah Etling on Nov 20, 2012 in Technology

The nation’s fastest residential Internet connections are now online in Kansas City. The Missouri/Kansas metropolis is already gaining fame and attention as the first market for Google Fiber, a super-powered service installed in selected Kansas City neighborhoods that offers online access at speeds 100 times faster than what most of us are used to. Internet that fast has the power to change how we use the Internet.

Take a minute and ask yourself: What could you do with a connection speed of a gigabit per second?

Imagine a connection so fast that you could download a 2GB file in a few seconds, rather than a few hours. For families, competing usage habits today might turn into fights and require house rules about who can use the Internet, and for what purpose, when everyone is online at the same time. With a Google Fiber, you would no longer have to choose between gaming, streaming movies or television, talking on Skype, and downloading or uploading music, photos or other media. Anything that you have ever dreamed of doing online could be a reality – without having to choose between activities – not to mention the ability to access downloads and information at near-warp speeds.

Of course, this begs the age-old question of whether there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. In other words, could there be any downside to having essentially unlimited bandwidth? Would it change your Internet usage in a positive and hyper-productive way, or could it be the tipping point at which your online activity totally takes over your life? How about at the office? Is slow connectivity hampering your corporate productivity?

Faster Internet is not just a lifestyle shift, but a potential economic game changer, too. It’s already positioning Kansas City as a potential incubator for new online startups. Rather than wrangle with the expensive, low-availability real estate market in San Jose or San Francisco, some techpreneurs are making tracks for the Midwest, instead. They’re lured by promises of things like a free place to stay, in addition to the Google Fiber project, reasonably priced real estate and more.

Google hasn’t announced plans for additional cities to receive Google Fiber, which is being offered at $70 a month. High definition TV service can be packaged with their Internet offering for another $50.  So for now, we’ll all just continue to be jealous of the lucky folks in KC. But while you’re daydreaming about what you’d do with that 100 times faster Internet, go ahead and tell us – What would you do with a connection speed of a gigabit per second?