Google unveils Ultrafast internet connection of 1 GIGABIT per second

Google has unveiled its own ultra-high-speed internet service – offering lightning-fast speeds of one gigabit per second in Kansas, Missouri. The search giant's new Internet service, known as "Google Fiber".The service, which uses optical fibre to deliver speeds far in excess of traditional web services, offers speeds faster than almost anywhere else on Earth. 


It is currently available only to residents of Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., which beat more than 1,100 cities in a competition to be the first to receive Google's new broadband network.

Google said customers who subscribe to the ultra-high speed web connections -- which measure a gigabit per second -- will no longer need to wait for videos to buffer or websites to load. They will be able to share large files instantaneously.Google is offering its Nexus 7 tablet with the Google TV app to early users of the service.

Google already owns video-sharing site YouTube, it will be the company's first venture into serving as a television provider. The Google Fiber project first started in February 2010, when Google announced that the company planned to build an ultra-high speed internet network in a select US city that was willing to partner with them. 

According to Google, the response was overwhelming. The company received invitations from almost 1,100 US communities and close to 200,000 individuals, all expressing their desire for faster internet service. Some cities even tried doing stunts hoping to attract the Google Fiber project, with one city mayor even jumping into a frozen river and posting the request on YouTube. 

Google Fiber Features:

Instead of a broadband connection, Google Fiber is composed of thin optical fiber lines that run directly from a person's home to a data centre, which is then in turn connected to the national internet backbone.

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.

“The phone is really a 1940s thing. Why have a landline? It’s sitting there, you use it once every two weeks,” Mr Pichette said.

Google said it also intends to roll out product packages for businesses, but would not provide details.

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 terabyte of cloud storage

Internet-only package:

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.

Google is charging a $300 installation fee, saying consumers should treat it as a “home improvement” cost.

You get what you pay for:

Households in fiberhoods will be able to select from three different subscription packages:

• Fiber Internet with television will cost $120 a month (no installation fee)

• Fiber Internet will cost $70 a month (no installation fee)

• Free, regular Internet (not Fiber speed) users will have the option of paying a one-time $300 construction fee, or $25 over 12 months; free service is good for seven years