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Google Fiber Raising TV Rates March 10

Google may want to differentiate itself from the often-loathed traditional broadband and TV industries, but there's one thing it certainly doesn't have control over: the high cost of programming. A Google Fiber customer recently posted to Reddit noting that they were informed that Google will be increasing the price of TV services in Kansas City. Currently, Google offers Google Fiber customers a symmetrical 1 Gbps connection and 150 channels for $120 a month.

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That price tag will be going up to $130 a month starting March 10.

I've confirmed with Google that the price hike will only impact new users, and existing users will be grandfathered at the current price point. Internet service pricing will remain the same.

"Since we kicked off signups for Google Fiber in Kansas City two years ago, we’ve offered our Gigabit + TV product to residents at $120/month," a Google spokesperson tells DSLReports. "In that time, we've continued to invest in our Gig+TV offering, improving our programming, and offering new benefits (e.g., more TV boxes per home, latest devices)."

Former Google Fiber boss Milo Medin recently proclaimed that the most difficult obstacle for Google in deploying fiber isn't digging ditches, battling incumbent ISPs or dealing with government -- it's securing TV programming. Video "is the single biggest impediment" to broader deployment of the Google Fiber bundle, Medin told attendees of the COMPTEL telecom conference in Dallas back in October.

"We operate at a very significant difference than incumbents we compete against," said Medin, who called programming "biggest piece of our cost structure." "We may be paying in some markets double what incumbents are paying for the same programming," he added.

Most recommended from 58 comments



xirian
Premium Member
join:2003-01-26
Beacon, NY

5 recommendations

xirian

Premium Member

Cheap

Thats still extremely cheap for 1 gbit with tv. That would be cheap for 50 mbit with tv.