Shawnee Is Next In Line For Google Fiber

Google on Thursday announced that Shawnee, Kansas will receive the company’s Fiber Internet service. Shawnee, located southwest of Kansas City, means the technology will be easier to extend than previous Fiber city announcements, but Google currently claims it doesn’t have an estimate for when the service will be available.

The company says it has “a lot of planning and engineering work to do” before bringing Fiber to Shawnee. Nevertheless, Google insists the city deserves Fiber access as it expects that widespread connectivity will complement the “great work” the City is already doing:

We’ve also been impressed by Shawnee’s vision to keep their citizens informed and involved using the Internet. Recently, the City modernized their website, so that locals can easily access city info—from crime maps to fiscal reports to streamed audio of city council meetings.

Although Shawnee is a city in its own right, it also happens to be a suburb of Kansas City. In this regard, it is similar to Olathe, Kansas – which also approved to receive Google Fiber, back in March.

Earlier today, there was speculation that Shawnee was getting Google Fiber after city officials announced a special council meeting to consider an agreement regarding the service. Once they voted to bring it to the city, Google and the city announced the news together.

“The ultra-high speed Google fiber network will enhance the quality of life for people in Shawnee by providing faster access to essential digital resources,” Shawnee’s Mayor Jeff Meyers said in a statement. “This will grow and strengthen Shawnee’s competitive advantage in the years to come.”

Google first announced Fiber was coming to Kansas City in July 2012. The company was quiet regarding other locations for months, but as of late there have been a slew of announcements.

In April, Austin, Texas was named as the second city, quickly followed by Provo, Utah less than two weeks later.

Given the plans for Olathe and Shawnee, Internet citizens who live in cities near Austin and Provo should talk to their city officials. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Google is eager to expand Fiber, both to large US cities as well as smaller ones that are suburbs to existing Fiber cities.

Google Fiber Signs Content Deal With FOX

Google Fiber struck a deal with Fox to add its channels to its TV lineup, just as the deadline nears for eligible customers in the Dub's Dread neighborhood of Kansas City to pick their Fiber to the Home (FTTH) service plans.

With the addition of Fox, which follows agreements it made with Disney and ESPN, the only missing content elements Google's TV service needs are HBO and AMC.

For more click here

Google Announces Fiber Service Kickoff, But Some Have Service Already

By Alyson Raletz

Google Inc. on Tuesday held an official kickoff for installations of its ultra-fast Internet network and TV service in the Kansas City area.

However, the Tuesday connections won’t be the first. A couple of handfuls of customers in the Hanover Heights and Spring Valley neighborhoods of Kansas City, Kan., have had the service since October, said Courtney Hohne, Google director of communications. (BLOG: Google Fiber trailblazer isn't interested in speed) They were part of a pilot installation project Google started in October to iron out any installation wrinkles.

The tech giant (Nasdaq: GOOG) held a Tuesday morning news conference to discuss the installations, which are being done by local workers. Alana Karen, Google Fiber director of service delivery, said Google plans to hire more locals during the coming months, but she didn’t specify how many.

The company said work is on schedule.

Still, those interested in a business Google Fiber offering will have to wait.

Juan Spiniak, Google Fiber product manager, said that "right now we are 100 percent focused on residential customers" and that a small-business product announcement would come in the future.

During the next few weeks, Google Fiber will add MyFiber, an online portal that lets customers manage services, configure WiFi and check the status of all their devices, such as network and TV storage devices. MyFiber also will let customers review their services and upgrade.

Google is encouraging customers to make post-installation inquiries online through the MyFiber portal, but it also provided a toll-free number for network support: 866-777-7550.

During an interview, Karen said customer service representatives in Austin, Texas, will field those calls. She said Google hired an outside vendor for call support services, but local employees in the Google Fiber Space in Westport also will be able to answer in-person questions about the network.

Houses in a segment of Kansas City, Kan., called KC Startup Village will be among the first to go live Tuesday. KC Startup Village includes roughly a dozen young companies that have set up shop inside houses and buildings near 45th Avenue and State Line Road. They were drawn to the area partly to access Google’s new network.

Karen advised customers to wait for Google to contact them about the initial installation.

Google wouldn't say how many installations it will perform in KC Startup Village's Hanover Heights and Spring Valley neighborhoods or provide a customer count, but it plans to move to the next "fiberhood" in December.

Follow Twitter updates from the village using the #KCSV hashtag.

Read Google's blog on the press conference.

First Google Fiber Houses Prepare For Plug In

By Alyson Raletz

A fuzzy four-hour installation window from the cable guy typically sends irked homeowners into a series of eye-rolls over their scheduled captivity.

But the owner of a Kansas City, Kan., house in the heart of KC Startup Village, Matthew Marcus, blogged that he “let out an almighty hoooooooowwwwwwllllll” when he learned Google Inc. employees would show up at his abode this week to turn on the ultra-fast Internet network.

The network is set to go live Tuesday after a private media event in the morning.

Forget catching up on mundane tasks while technicians mill about the premises. Marcus and his startup village cohorts plan on taking advantage of every second workers from Google are there.

They have pledged to spend any down time shooting video and taking photos so “everyone around the city, country and world” can watch, too.

Live streaming of one of the most highly anticipated — and documented — activations of TV and Internet services in the area is set to begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday. You’ll be able to watch the process live here.

“Everyone from geeks to the mainstream media is watching every move Google makes regarding their fiber service,” Marcus said Monday in an email. “The thing is, no one is covering their moves first hand and up close and personal. (There’s) lots of coverage from a 10,000-foot view, but only a select few are able to report from the ground. My thinking is the KCSV could provide that coverage, and at the same time give great exposure to the awesome entrepreneur and startup scene in KC.”

KC Startup Village includes roughly a dozen young companies that have set up shop inside houses and buildings near 45th Avenue and State Line Road. They were drawn to the Hanover Heights and Spring Valley neighborhoods partly to access Google’s new network, which is slated to go live there first.

Google’s rollout schedule for other neighborhoods in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., extends through fall 2013.

Google’s fiber network technically was installed at Marcus’ house at 4454 State Line Road, the headquarters of Local Ruckus LLC and several other startups, in late October.

But the network still needs a visit from Google workers before locals can access it.

KC Startup Village will be focusing its video coverage of the Tuesday light-up at the Local Ruckus house and at 4428 State Line Road, Homes for Hackers’ inaugural effort for couch-surfing entrepreneurs trying to connect to Google Fiber.

Those interested in the Google Fiber install also can follow the village’s Twitter hashtag, #kcsv, for updates.

Plans For GoogleFiber Cause Concerns

Google Inc.’s partly free Internet service has been lauded for helping to close the digital divide in Kansas City, but a local broadband advocacy group is concerned that the coming service actually may widen it.
Kansas City, Kan., volunteer organization Connecting for Good Inc. plans to hit up Google for highly discounted or free installations based on income for its planned 5-megabit-per-second Internet service in KCK and Kansas City, Mo., later this year. The service is the low-end option of Google’s incoming Internet and TV services, which will feature ultra-fast (1-gigabit) Internet speeds.
A Google spokeswoman said the technology giant was open to conversations with the group. She also noted that the basic service averages out to $3.57 a month during seven years and is extremely affordable.
However, Google’s $300 construction fee for the free service must be paid within 12 months. Monthly payments would total $25.
In a Saturday website post, Connecting for Good wrote, “Our fear is that bringing the ‘super Internet’ to our area would further separate the digital ‘haves’ from the ‘have nots.’”
Connecting for Good President Michael Liimatta said the group also is considering a fundraising campaign to help “the poorest of the poor” afford Google’s bottom-tier Internet service.
On Thursday, Google announced it would provide the service free for seven years to residents willing to pay a $300 construction fee. Google’s signature 1-gigabit service will cost $70 a month, or $120 when bundled with Google Fiber TV service. The services will go to “fiberhoods” that express enough interest — in the form of $10 pre-registration by enough residents in the area — during a six-week rally.
As of about 2 p.m. Monday, 34 fiberhoods had met their Google-determined pre-registration goals, most of them on the Missouri side of the state line.
“So far, many poorer urban core neighborhoods are expressing interest in Google fiber at a slower rate than middle- and higher-income neighborhoods,” The Kansas City Star wrote in a Sunday editorial.
See the current pre-registration results on the Google Fiber website. Click on “show all fiberhoods” for a complete neighborhood rundown.

Checkout GoogleFiber this weekend

The network may not be live yet, but Kansas Citians can check out Google Inc.’s new gigabit service for themselves this weekend.
Google’s “Fiber Space” opens to the public at noon Saturday at 1814 Westport Road.
The space will be open seven days a week, from noon to 8 p.m., for the next six weeks as a way to help residents decide whether they're interested in the network, Google officials said.
A TV with “crystal clear high definition” is on display, along with interactive stations demonstrating the network’s capabilities.
The Fiber Space, which Google recently had refurbished, is part of Google’s “fiberhood” rally. During the rally, residents of Kansas City, Kan., and central Kansas City, Mo., can go online and pre-register for the network. Google says it will light up the 1-gigabit network in neighborhoods that express enough interest.

Kansas City Will Be First To Get GoogleFiber Television

Google Inc. plans to launch GoogleFiber television in the Kansas City area as part of its ultra-fast broadband project, officials announced Thursday, using the rallying cry, "Let's do this for Kansas City."
The service — which is headed for areas of Kansas City, Kan., and central Kansas City, Mo. — will allow users to record as much as 500 hours of shows in high-definition, plus as many as eight shows simultaneously. It will have a Bluetooth remote control and an app with hundreds of channels, plus thousands of shows on demand.
GoogleFiber TV also will be able to interact with social networks, and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is working with local organizations to publish new content, officials said.
Google is using a social rallying technique to determine which "fiberhoods" will receive TV and Internet service first. Residents can urge others in their fiberhoods — which will include roughly 800 neighbors — to go to google.com/fiber and pre-register (for a $10 fee) to meet the minimum goal, which depending on individual areas could be 40 to 80 neighbors. The website will display the status of each area.
The rally ends Sept. 9 and is open to Kansas City, Kan., and central Kansas City, Mo. Afterward, users can finalize their choice of package.
As fiberhoods get Google's service, their schools, libraries, community centers, public safety buildings and government buildings will get free gigabit Internet connectivity. The first rally will link up more than 200 of them, a Google official said.
Google announced three packages for residential users but hinted that packages for businesses would be coming soon.
Many initial customers who sign contracts won't have to pay a $300 construction fee to get fiber to their homes.
The three current options include:

• Gigabit Internet and TV will be available for $120 a month. The package also includes a super hard drive, a terabyte of cloud storage on Google Drive, all major broadcast channels, hundreds of fiber channels and thousands of on-demand videos. The Nexus 7 tablet is included as a remote control. Premium movie channels will be available for a monthly fee.
• Gigabit Internet will be available for $70 a month. It will include a network box and 1 terabyte of cloud storage on Google Drive.
• Regular Internet will be available for free after a one-time $300 construction fee. Those who aren't ready to commit to Google's new service can sign up to have their homes fitted for the service when construction is going on in their neighborhoods. Doing so will get them free Internet access for seven years at today's average speeds, and they'll be prepared to upgrade at any time. The construction fee can be paid upfront or at a rate of $25 a month for the first year.

Google plans big announcement in Kansas City

Some of the question marks hovering over Google Inc.’s incoming fiber network in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., could disappear next week.
“Kansas City: Google Fiber is almost here,” Kevin Lo, general manager of Google Access, wrote in a Wednesday blog. “Look out for more information on July 26th at google.com/fiber.”
Google plans to announce details of the ultra-fast broadband network on July 26, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday. A location hasn’t yet been disclosed for a planned press conference, but details will be made public via a new website, according to a blog from the Google Fiber team. The blog features a short video with photos of Kansas City landmarks and the familiar “Kansas City” tune in the background.
Google has been hush-hush about the exact timing and cost of the network, which neighborhoods it will reach and what the company's intentions are with video services, among other details.
Google officials have referenced this summer announcement during most public inquiries, saying that the company would be more forthcoming with details at that time.