Yes, some. My comment was more about aerial fiber in the upper midwest being fraught with potential issues, particularly in winter.

As for the issues outlined in the article, see my previous post - Google's presence in KCK is 100% due to a deal they struck with the local government of Wyandotte County. Without that, they have nothing. If the incumbents can successful prevent such relationships elsewhere in the metro, Google will never be able to expand.

Time for Goggle to start greasing some politicians palms with money. Sad how it works

Yeah, it is sad. The thing is, it used to seem like Google was one of the "good guys" but having interacted with them on a few occasions now, they operate a lot like the other members of the good ole boys club.

There was never any plans to go underground. The cost would be too high.

The issue with the utility poles was that on he KS side the city/county owns the poles and there was miscommunication between the two on where on the pole the fiber was going to be hung.

On the MO side Google has reached agreements with KCPL for the hanging of the fiber and since KCPL owns those poles there should not be these issues.

Again, I'm not talking necessarily about the legal issues surrounding using the poles. I'm talking strictly about the rate of failure of aerial fiber vs. underground fiber in an area that sees freezing/ice regularly. Google is laying fiber to compete in the area but it's unlikely that it will ever be more than that, due to the cost/benefit issues of providing such a service.

Google doesn't have the breadth of media services to compete without entering into agreements with other media providers, forcing them into the same kind of business model the other cable and telecom providers in the area use. There's nothing that really "differentiates" them, outside of their name and the loyalty to it. That ties back to the aerial fiber in that even their cable plant will be similar to their competitors - they won't necessarily be able to provide a "more stable" connection or better "uptime". They promise higher speeds but notice that said press releases always say that their prices will be "comparable and competitive" which means it's NOT going to be cheaper.

By contrast, my local provider here buried their fiber. They've already seen a 76% reduction in outside plant-related trouble tickets and are projected to save $20M over the next 10 years. That $20M, from a competitive standpoint, gives them an extreme edge over the competition in the area because they can afford to streamline, invest, and otherwise re-shape their business.

They haven't issued any kind of deployment schedule or map yet, have they? I think it will be really interesting to see when, where and how they implement the services.

INteresting. Yea, i highly doubt they are ever able to compete on a national scale with the giants of Telecom firmly entrenched.

Some company has been laying cable up here in Platte County. Not sure what its for though.

I'm not sure I'd want google to own the physical layer to my house. They already know almost everything about me.

They can have my privacy for 500Mb pipes.

Looks pretty cool and start-up businesses are gravitating to the project. Hope it creates the success they expect.

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Google's ultrafast Internet draws startups to Kansas City hoping to create a 'Silicon Prairie'

http://news.yahoo.com/googles-ultraf...174542119.html

ONLY POSTED THE FIRST 1/4 OF THE ARTICLE TOO LONG

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Inside a small bungalow on the street separating Kansas City, Kan., from its sister city in Missouri, a small group of entrepreneurs are working on their ideas for the next high-tech startup, tapping Google Inc.'s new superfast Internet connection that has turned the neighborhood into an unlikely settlement dubbed the "Silicon Prairie."

The home on State Line Road is one of several startup-friendly locations that have sprouted up in Kansas City in recent months. The catalyst is Google Fiber, the search-engine giant's fiber-optic network being tested in the Kansas City area that advertises speeds of up to a gigabyte per second — a rate that massively exceeds the average Internet speeds at homes hooked up with cable modems.

The advantage here for startups is simple: A fast Internet pipe makes it easier to handle large files and eliminates buffering problems that plague online video, live conferencing or other network-intensive tasks. Though the Kansas City location presents challenges for startups, including the ability to raise money outside the traditional Silicon Valley venture capital scene, entrepreneurs like Synthia Payne believe it's the place to be right now for up-and-coming tech companies.

Payne is one of those entrepreneurs hoping to launch her startup dream — an Internet subscription service for musicians who want to collaborate online — on the cheap. She shares the State Line Road house, known as the "Home for Hackers," with other startups under a deal that allows them to live rent-free while they develop their business plans.

Google's network was attractive, Payne said, because her business plan "is dependent upon really good, really fast Internet."

Ok this belongs here....slightly NSFW language.

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