Google shows 100 times faster internet

Google Inc’s effort to offer Internet access at speeds 100 times faster than those available today raises the bar for US cable and phone companies as the government readies a national broadband plan.

“They’ve just defined the new minimum,” said Reed Hundt, who was chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 1993 to 1997 and now runs an advisory firm in Washington. “They have just effectively written the first page in the report.”

Google’s proposal, announced yesterday in a blog posting, is to build fiber-optic networks for as many as 500,000 people with connections of 1 gigabit per second. That’s 20 times the speed of the fastest residential connections from AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc and Comcast Corp, and more than 1,000 times faster than the cheapest connections.

The FCC is set to introduce its broadband strategy by March 17 to ensure all US citizens have access to high-speed Web service. Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement yesterday that Google’s trial will serve as “an American testbed for the next generation” of services.

By building its own network, Google would be going around AT&T, Verizon and Comcast to provide Internet access directly to homes, giving it control over how data is delivered to consumers. Google has lobbied for net neutrality legislation to prevent carriers from giving preference to some content providers over others.

The US ranked 19th in a September 2008 study of average broadband speeds, behind Japan, Iceland and Austria, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Wireless networks in the US are also being strained by the growing use of smartphones such as Apple Inc’s iPhone.

As part of the broadband plan, the FCC may pay broadcasters to vacate unused airwaves that could be used to bolster wireless networks, according to an FCC official, who asked not to be identified because the plan hasn’t been made public.

Google, owner of the world’s most popular Web search engine, fell $2 to $534.45 yesterday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have dropped 14 per cent this year.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, will first identify cities or counties that want the service and then work with other companies to build the fiber-optic network, said Minnie Ingersoll, a product manager. Google will pay for the deployment of the service, she said.

“We’ve been working with the FCC to advocate that the US needs to make really bold, concrete moves to accelerate broadband deployment,” said Ingersoll. “This is our attempt to put our money where our mouth is.”