Google doesn’t want to wait for telecoms and wireless providers to eventually deliver high-speed connections to consumers so it’s going to do it itself. Enterprise Networking Planet elaborates on the search giant’s plan to bring 1-gigabit-per-second connectivity to at least 50,000 people in the near future.
Google, a frequent opponent of Internet service providers in policy debates over net neutrality and other network practices, is planning to try its own hand as a broadband provider.
The search giant today described plans to launch trials of ultra-high-speed broadband networks in test markets throughout the United States, promising download speeds as high as 1 gigabit per second through fiber-to-the-home connections.
“We’re doing this because we want to experiment with new ways to make the Web better and faster for everyone, allowing applications that would be impossible today,” Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) product manager James Kelly said in a video outlining the initiative. “We also want to try out new ways to build and operate fiber networks and share what we learn with the world.”
As part of its broadband initiative, Google said it would operate its networks under an open-access policy, allowing other service providers to tap into the underlying infrastructure. The company also emphasized that it would adhere to a non-discrimination provision regarding traffic management, reiterating its long-standing support for network neutrality.
Google’s announcement comes as federal regulators are racing to complete a national broadband strategy, a blueprint of policy proposals for expanding availability and adoption of high-speed Internet service that is set to be delivered to Congress next month.