Google is busily preparing to build a FTTP network in Kansas City, but they are further along with their beta test of the technology on the campus of Stanford University in California. It’s a much smaller pilot, but is seen as an indicator of where Google is trying to go with this FTTP experiment.
They are now connecting customers to the Stanford FTTP network and AnandTech.com reports that one beta subscriber posted their Google fiber results to Reddit. As evidenced by the screenshot below (assuming its legitimate and accurate), this customer saw 151 Mbps in the downstream and 92 Mbps in the upstream. The Stanford network is being managed by California based ISP Sonic.net.
What remains to be seen is whether these results are indicative of what all Google fiber customers will receive once Google gets their Kansas City project up and running. There are still several questions left unanswered regarding this experiment, not the least of which is retail pricing. It’s wonderful if you can get 150+ Mbps broadband service, but if its cost is out of reach for most, what good is it?
I continue to believe the Google fiber project will be something to watch. Not because I believe Google has grandiose plans to take their fiber network to multiple markets and compete with incumbent service providers. But because the Kansas City experiment will be just that – an experiment to showcase new applications and technologies that could have interesting implications for the broadband ecosystem as a whole.
