The final tally is in, and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is building out 180 authenticated "fiberhoods" in Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas) as part of its rollout of "ultra-high-speed Google fiber."
The neighborhoods put their money (at least $10 of it as a goodwill gesture) where their mouths are and asked Google to come in and give them access to high-speed broadband and a lineup of channels that continues to expand with the inclusion of Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Turner Broadcasting, which brought the likes of Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN, CNN en Espanol, CNN International, HLN, hTV, infinito, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, TNT and truTV. When added to Google's existing channels, the TV offering now is pretty competitive, with 200 total offerings.
Google is offering several layers to its service, including the one it hopes everyone will buy: A $120 per month broadband-TV package that should make a dent in the business done by incumbent providers Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and AT&T (NYSE: T) U-verse.
Of course, first there's the small matter of actually building the fiber network to deliver this cornucopia of services, and as any service provider will tell you, that's not nearly as easy as promising broadband and TV service.
Google published a construction schedule and plans to install service to its first customer in the Hanover Heights section of Kansas City, Kan., "within the next two weeks," according to a blog by Kevin Lo, general manager of Google Access. The first Kansas City, Mo., fiberhood will be Crown Center, but that's a bit farther off.
"Right now we're still busy deploying infrastructure in central Kansas City, Mo., and we'll start installing Google Fiber to Crown Center residents and other Missouri fiberhoods next spring," Lo wrote.
Lo did add a caveat: "It's important to note that our construction schedule isn't set in stone--many factors, such as a harsh winter, may affect timing. But we plan to be as transparent as possible if our estimates change, and we'll post any new information on our website," he concluded.
For more:
- Google posted this blog
- TechCrunch has this story
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