Google Fiber!

We've had Comcast internet for years.  Nobody likes Comcast.  In fact, it's probably one of the most despised companies in America.  But, they were what we've used.  They provided a mediocre product at average prices, but really there weren't any better options.  But... that has all changed.  The gigabit revolution is upon us!  Google announced in 2010 that they were starting Google Fiber as a way to bring fiber-based internet to certain cities in the US, which would result in blazing internet speeds.  In 2011 they announced that the first city to get it would be...  Kansas City!  However, roll-out was really slow, and it wasn't until 2012 that it was up and running anywhere, and it wasn't until last year that it even reached Olathe, which was well behind the initial schedule.  Since then, they are now up and running in several other metro areas around the country.

The first to offer gigabit internet (1000 Mbps, or 1 Gbps) in Olathe was Consolidated Communications, a regional company that was formerly SureWest and then Everest before that.  AT&T, like Google, was planning to offer the service to our part of Johnson County, but Consolidated Communications didn't need to do all the digging that those two companies needed to do, so they blasted out mailers to everyone hoping to get people to buy in before Google and AT&T had their gigabit service ready.  (By the way,  I hope years from now I look back on this post and am amazed that I was actually by these speeds, which hopefully are woefully slow in a decade or so.)  I was excited to get much faster internet service, so I was going to choose one of them, and I had my eye on Google, so I held out despite CC's overtures.  Last summer, AT&T dug up our back yard, and Google dug up our front yard to install their equipment, and they began taking sign-ups in the neighborhoods that then had infrastructure in place ("fiberhoods").  AT&T's product, Gigapower, was probable fine, but their customer services is notoriously bad.  Google gets rave reviews for their customer service, and I also generally trust them more as a company, at least in terms of products and technology.  So I signed up with them and waited and waited.  Finally a few weeks ago, they dug the line from the curb up to my house, and today was my scheduled installation of service.  I was so happy to see that rainbow rabbit truck in front of my house.

We went with the TV and internet package, so this also meant we said goodbye to Dish Network, which we've actually really liked.  We've had a great experience with them and have had them since 2003 or so.  The product is really good, and customer service is solid.  But it was going to be much cheaper to go with Google's TV offering (and I'll finally get FS1, FSMW, and other channels, so more K-State and more Royals!).  So goodbye Dish (we'll miss you), and goodbye Comcast Xfinity (we won't miss you), and hello Google Fiber!  So far, the TV is great, and the internet is super fast.  With Comcast I would get, on average, 30-ish Mbps down, and 12 Mbps up.  Now I get 250 to 350 Mbps down and similar speeds up.  So pretty much a tenfold increase.  And that's wirelessly, using my laptop.  If I plug in directly to the Fiber box, I get around 950 Mbps down!  There's the gigabit beauty in all its glory!  That won't be a reality for us, because we'll mostly be using our laptops wirelessly, but it's still way, way better even wireless.  So I'm very excited.  Fast internet and more K-State and more Royals.  What could be better?