The news that Google Fiber is coming to Austin, Texas has me all aflutter. But I’m the type of broadband-lovin’ fool who wants a gig for the sake of having a gig. What about those practical people out there wondering why they might sign up?
Even if my earlier arguments about innovation don’t convince you that Google Fiber could help change the broadband landscape, then here’s a chart that could help. For the practical people out there, just check out the pricing of Google Fiber today versus the pricing of the incumbent ISPs in Austin.
| Service provider | Cost |
|---|---|
| Google Fiber (gigabit broadband only) | $ 70 monthly |
| Google Fiber (gigabit + TV) | $ 120 monthly |
| Google Fiber (5 Mbps) | $ 300 install fee and $ 0 monthly |
| AT&T U-verse (24/6 Mbps only) | $ 55 with $ 200 install fee |
| AT&T U-verse (24/6 + TV) | $ 99 monthly with 1-year contract |
| AT&T U-verse (6Mbps) | $ 20 with $ 200 install fee |
| Time Warner Cable (50/5 Mbps package) | $ 79 monthly plus $ 20 install fee |
| Time Warner Cable (50/5 Mbps + TV) | $ 172 monthly with a $ 90 install fee |
| Time Warner Lite (3/1 Mbps) | $ 34 a month |
Comparing pricing across telecommunications services is tough, so I assembled the highest speed internet package, the TV package that offered digital cable but none of the extra premium channels and a DVR package that provided whole home DVR as Google TV does. Time Warner Cable has a box and modem fee associated with its service. Google TV doesn’t have an equipment fee but it does have a different channel line up than the incumbents.
Looking at this, Google Fiber would be more expensive than AT&T’s services until people started using more devices and requiring more capacity. However, AT&T has a cap of 250 GB per month, and despite what the salesman told me over the phone, I’m pretty sure that I do need a 24 Mbps connection today to satisfy my family members. Still, on the eve of the Google Fiber announcement I’m tempted to switch over to AT&T while I wait for the build out.
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