These comparisons are as of January 2017. If something is incorrect, unfairly stated or have something to add, post below or message me and I'll update this post. Rates shown compare ISP rates in Google Fiber (GF) markets and are spot checked but not officially confirmed. This guide does not necessarily contain official info. Check with each ISP to confirm.
Google FiberPrices:- 1Gbit symmetrical (up and download) for $70/month, no install fee, no contract
- 100M symmetrical for $50, no install fee, no contract
- Free Gigabit for certain KC public housing,
$15 25/25 for certain low income areas- Fiber Phone for $10/mo, unlimited US calling, tied to Google Voice service (appears to use Obitalk device)
-
See KC options that show experimental TV plans that may make it to other marketsGood:
- Near Gbit speeds across the country
(typically over 900M anytime of day)- High quality TV image, high bitrate for TV (over 15Mbps MPEG4), up to 8 recordings at once
- Phone support usually (not always) better than others, reps actually have problem solving skills
- New Fiber Phone ties into Google Voice service - rings cell, home phones, tablets, computers tied to acct
- Prices are fixed rates, not temporary promotions
- Latency is low across country, typically 1-2ms in local city, 35-40ms from KC to the coasts
- 5M service has same low latency as Gbit, Netflix 'HD' also works fine on 5M
- Dedicated longhaul network just for GF with good peering (allows high speeds/lower latency across country and across other transit networks)
- No monthly usage caps on all plans, modem and WiFi router included in the base rate
Other:
- Live in Kansas City, Provo, Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh
- 5M 'free' service no longer marketed but might be still available in KC/Austin if you ask. Existing KC 5M subs will continue for 7 years after install date.
- TV streaming not yet officially working outside home network (will work if you VPN), TV box acts as a Chromecast receiver
- Cannot use 3rd party TV boxes (Tivo, HDHomeRun), first TV box included with TV rate, each additional box $10/mo, Chromecast as a TV extender may come in future
- Had 2 TV outages city wide in last year, one for over an hour - gave free Showtime for a month
- Initial rollout very very slow when entering new market and rate of passing homes less than 100K per year per market
- Went from 150+ channels when first rolling out to now at 220+ channels (including AMC finally), still missing some obscure sports channels, TV rates jumped higher after adding more channels and not having enough critical mass to get good deals from content providers. Consider Sling, PS Vue, etc.
- Only 2 core TV packages offered, Local channels or start with 220 channels
- Google
claims they don't target ads or tie other services directly based on GF pipe usage but as with any ISP they do it on/between the G services you use on top of GF pipe (Gmail, Chrome Browser, etc). You could use GF pipe with no Google apps/services and not get Google targeted ads. TV viewing habits targets video ads but you can opt out and clear history. Methinks it should be off by default given TV is a pay service.
TimeWarner/Charter Spectrum Prices:- Current Promos in KC:
-- 100/10M $45 standalone internet, includes modem but $5/mo extra for WiFi, $35 install fee
-- 300/20M $90 standalone internet, includes modem but $5/mo extra for WiFi, $200 install fee
-- Lower rates available when bundled with TV/Phone ($30 100/10 with TV/Phone)
Good:
- Generally performs at advertised speeds at long distances (in KC anyway, some Maxx markets may not have enough peering capacity)
- No apparent targeting of ads, but all major ISPs do track your usage
- More obscure sports channels available than GF
- No caps
- Can likely keep promo rates long term if Gbit ISP available to your location, but likely need to threaten to leave
Other:
- No longer offering under 100M service in Maxx markets, TWC used to offer 50M for $30 in KC - it's gone
- Only up to 20Mb uplink max available
- TV quality not nearly as good as GF, much lower bitrate, MPEG4 only for premium channels
- Charges more for some HD channels that GF includes
- Latency not nearly as good/low as GF/ATT
AT&T GigapowerPrices:- $70 Gbit in Google Fiber markets, 1 yr contract, no caps
- Around $50 300/300 or 100/100 depending on market, 1TB cap if no TV service, check to confirm
- $30 extra w/out caps depending on service (no cap with TV service in any market)
Good:
- Up to 1Gbit symmetrical (up/download)
- Latency usually nearly good as GF
- Deploying much faster than GF overall (except less homes passed than GF in KC)
- No longer targeting of ads with deep packet inspection, but all major ISPs do track your usage
- ?????
Other:
- Often
struggles to perform near Gbit at long distances or peering across other networks, can be well under half depending. The 300M service doesn't have this issue and is a great value if you can get it. It might be 100M available instead of 300M in your area. Worth checking into. Check if a promo rate and rate after promo period.
- Very low bitrate TV quality, one of lowest in industry (Uverse TV, not DirecTV)
- Unlimited data with TV service, potentially 1TB/month cap if no TV, $30/mo extra for no cap
Comcast Gigabit ProSeeking input, section under construction...
Prices:
- 2Gbit for $300/month, $1000 install/activation fee, 2 yr contract
- $20/month extra for the $10,000 Juniper switch that comes with the service
- Includes a Netgear WiFi router
Good:
- Essentially Biz class MetroE service available to residential
- No caps
- Performs as advertised on internal network
- Some report ability to do 3Gbit by bonding WAN ports if I understand right
Other:
- Need to be within half mile of fiber node to get service (might be 1/3 mile)
- Need to qualify for service and need 10Gb equipment to take advantage of 2Gb
- Available in all Comcast markets if address meets criteria
- May not consistently perform over 1Gb across other transit/longhaul networks, especially to a single site
-
Great article that describes what is involved to install Gbit ProComcast Xfinity 1 GigabitPrices:
- 1000/35 for $140/mo, no contract with 1TB cap
- 1000/35 for $70/mo, 3yr contract with no caps depending on market
- 300/25 for $100/mo, no contract, 1TB cap
- 100/10 for $80/mo, no contract, 1TB cap
- 250/25 for $50/mo in KC, 2 yr contract, Unlimited in high competition markets or 1TB cap (check to confirm)
- $50/mo extra for no cap depending on market
Good:
- No apparent targeting of ads, but all major ISPs do track your usage
- Gigabit generally performs near advertised speeds at long distances
Other:
- Not available in all markets yet
- Only up to 35Mb uplink max available
- TV quality not as good as GF, using MPEG4 but lower bitrate and some channels apparently downgraded to 720p
- Charges more for some HD channels that GF includes
- Latency not quite as good/low as GF/ATT but better than Charter/TWC
Comparing other Gbit ISPs to GF - things to look for- Check if it can really do near Gbit across the country, most are much less at long distances
-- Here are GF speeds/latency across country/world: »
GF performance at long distances- Check equipment rental and obscure fees. GF price includes everything except a few bucks taxes.
- Check the TV quality compared to GFTV, look into bitrate and if MPEG2 or 4, GFTV is 15M+ MPEG4.
- Check TV box features, GFTV is weaker with some features, stronger in others
- Check if there are monthly usage caps and $ after cap, GF has no caps (unlimited)
- Check prices after any promos end, GF rates are as stated
SummaryIf you don't need anywhere near a Gbit and not picky on TV image quality, middle tier bundles from non-Google ISPs might be a better deal for you. ATT 300M for about $50 is a decent value if you can get it. If you want/need near a Gbit that performs consistently and highest quality TV image, Google Fiber appears to deliver most consistently. Comcast 2 Gigabit Pro truly a top tier residential service if willing to pay for it, however Comcast Xfinity Gigabit not on par with Google Fiber (uplink/latency).
Technical ComparisonsGF has two technical advantages over other high speed ISPs - they're building a
dedicated longhaul network across country not shared with other Google services and effectively dedicated last mile Gbit runs to each household (some cliaim using a variant of WDM-PON/GPON hybrid, could be straight GPON 8:1 split but possibly dedicated wavelength per split, not confirmed) . These allow maintaining near Gbit speeds at long distances and with higher number of active users than others. Other fiber ISPs using GPON (ATT, Centurylink, Frontier, VZ, EPB, muni fiber, etc) are sharing 2.4Gb across 16-32 users and have many services sharing traffic on the longhaul and/or highly dependent on other longhaul carriers with sub-par peering. Cable DOCSIS3.1 Gigabit will share hundreds of users on a 5Gb pipe at first and will have to build fiber closer in to get 10Gbit shared. Comcast Gigabit Pro is a Biz class MetroE network that is an exception - though for more $ and need to be near fiber node.
More here on what playing field looks like with multiple Gbit competitors...
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What happens when you have multi Gigabit ISP competition?
