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Journal: Google Fiber Build Exacerbates Digital Divide
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article exploring complaints on how Google Fiber (and responding, highly-selective deployments by CenturyLink, AT&T, and others) may fuel a digital divide by only upgrading select residents in certain cities. That said, the article claims that Google Fiber's ability to deploy fiber to just select locations helped save them 20% over traditional builds like Verizon's FiOS. "If Verizon resumes expansion, the company would consider Google's build-to-demand model because it has the potential to be more profitable," Verizon executive Chris Levendos tells the paper.

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oshkrozz
join:2013-02-12
Baltimore, MD

2 recommendations

oshkrozz

Member

Good Point

I think it is high time we stop this practice, there is no reason Ruth Cris Steak House should be allowed to operate without opening branches in low income areas, nor should any country club be allowed to restrict the membership to those who can pay ...

This comment aside the Wall Street Journal did a very good job explaining why there should be municipal boradband. Ultimately a for profit company will be interested in ... um profits?? and would not on its own provide service to areas that are not profitable. However, one can not trust that a for profit company would contractually provide those services even if given money (or tax breaks) to do so (see pretty much every place in this country that has contracts with ISPs for boradband deployment). As such, just like with roads and utilities there needs to be a public/private partnership that companies can built out to areas where they can make money and the government can build out to other areas, rather then protectionist promises from ISPs that they will ... eventually.