Google Inc made its foray into the
market for bundled Internet and television services , promising access speeds
more than 100 times faster than those of traditional US cable and
telecommunications companies.
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.
10 ten things you would want to know
about Google Fiber:
1)
Google Fiber's ultra high-speed connections and television offerings are aimed
at surpassing those of current providers, allowing users to search live
channels, Netflix, YouTube, recorded shows and tens of thousands of hours of
on-demand programming. However, no phone service is available.
2)
Google said it also intends to roll out product packages for businesses, but
would not provide details.
3) Google Fiber includes more than 100 networks and costs $120 a month
for a package of TV, 1 gigabit per second Internet speeds and 1 terabit of
cloud storage.
4) Google is also offering an Internet-only package priced at $70 a
month. The download speeds would be around 1 gigabit a second, according to
Google executives.
5) The package includes popular networks owned by major media companies
such as Comcast Corp's NBC Universal, Discovery Communications and Viacom Inc.
Premium movie networks are available from Liberty Media's Starz for an extra
fee. But it excludes several major TV names, such as News Corp's Fox cable
channels; Time Warner networks like CNN, TNT and TBS, as well as Walt Disney Co
cable channels like ESPN and Disney children networks.
6) Google is charging a $300 installation fee, saying consumers should
treat it as a "home improvement" cost.
7) The initial service area includes central Kansas City, Missouri and
all of the city of neighboring Kansas City, Kansas.
8) Consumers must pay $10 to register their household online for
service. About 50 "neighbors" will need to register in order for
their area to be eligible for installation services, according to Google
executives.
9) Google Fiber includes such features as the ability to record eight TV
shows at a time and store up to 500 hours of high definition programming. Users
can choose to use a tablet or smartphone as a voice-activated remote control.
10) Google is offering its Nexus 7 tablet with the Google TV app to
early users of the service.
