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Just how “Googley” is Kirkland?

By on March 4, 2010 in Archived, Headlines, Opinion

GoogleyKirkland

UPDATED

Read The City of Kirkland’s news release on this subject.

Google has announced a plan to develop an experimental fiber network with ultra high-speed broadband in a small number of trial locations across the United States. With internet speeds of over 100 times faster than typical connections, the 1 gigabit per second fiber-to-the-home also promises “open access” and competitive pricing. The competition is on for communities interested in participating in the trial program.


The City of Kirkland is interested in becoming a trial community. The City Council received a presentation from staff regarding Google’s proposal at its last council meeting. Other communities around the country are getting serious about wooing Google. The most famous attempt at getting Google’s attention was by the city of Topeka, Kansas, which officially changed it’s name to Google, Kansas during the month of March. Duluth, Minn has entered “the Google pandering arms race” by posting a parody YouTube video announcing that all first born males in Duluth shall be named “Google Fiber” and all first born females shall be named, “Googlette Fiber.”

Is Kirkland willing to change it’s name to Google or come up with an elaborate parody video to attract Google? I doubt it. But at least we have the home field advantage.

With the recent sale of Kirkland’s Verizon phone, TV and FiOS internet service to Frontier Communications (who?), Kirkland citizens thirsty for quality high-speed internet service would welcome Google Fiber. One would think that a little friendly competition from Google would be welcomed by our other internet provider, Xfinity (isn’t that new name Comcastic?!)

Kirkland is proud to be the home of over 400 Google employees at the new Google campus. From within Google Kirkland, along with the smaller Google Seattle office in Fremont, many fabulous technologies are developed. Some of the projects they work on include Google Talk, Maps, YouTube, Chrome, Gmail, Analytics, AdPlanner, AdWords and more.

The competition for communities to become a part of Google’s experimental fiber network ends March 26. Google will announce their target communities later this year. To learn more, visit: Think Big With A Gig: Our Experimental Fiber Network.


About Rob Butcher

Editor and Scribbler of Kirkland Views.
View all posts by Rob Butcher →
  • http://www.kirklandzoo.blogspot.com/ Per-Ola

    Getting Google to invest in a trial system in Kirkland would be a great win for all parties. We have a community that is thirsty for ever more competition, more choices, and better service.
    Today there are really only two players in town; Comcast and Verizon (soon to be Frontier in this market). Clearwire still can not offer the speeds of their wired competitors, but wireless technology is advancing, almost on a daily basis. Comcast do provide excellent “technical” service but they also charge for it (seen from an international perspective), and their channel line-up is very rigid. No one knows how Frontier will be able to manage the FiOS network, or more importantly, how they will be able to compete for “content” with larger players, such as AT&T, Comcast, Cox, TimeWarner, Verizon, etc.

    A Google network will probably not be cheap (for the subscriber), but it will provide a trial for “blazing fast” speeds, speeds that surpass even what can be found in many more developed markets (from a connectivity perspective).

    Finally, one can always wonder how Google will handle/track the content flowing over a “Google” network. Will everything be logged and stored in order to build customer profiles and to use that infomration to (better) deliver content based on individual interests? No one really knows, but clear is that a Google network will be a game changer, and it will also provide yet another alternative in our never ending quest for a higher speeds and “better” connections (“better” is not necessarily the same as “faster”). We can just also hope that it will provide for “better” pricing options, but that is probably a just pipe dream…

  • http://www.kirklandzoo.blogspot.com Per-Ola

    Getting Google to invest in a trial system in Kirkland would be a great win for all parties. We have a community that is thirsty for ever more competition, more choices, and better service.
    Today there are really only two players in town; Comcast and Verizon (soon to be Frontier in this market). Clearwire still can not offer the speeds of their wired competitors, but wireless technology is advancing, almost on a daily basis. Comcast do provide excellent “technical” service but they also charge for it (seen from an international perspective), and their channel line-up is very rigid. No one knows how Frontier will be able to manage the FiOS network, or more importantly, how they will be able to compete for “content” with larger players, such as AT&T, Comcast, Cox, TimeWarner, Verizon, etc.

    A Google network will probably not be cheap (for the subscriber), but it will provide a trial for “blazing fast” speeds, speeds that surpass even what can be found in many more developed markets (from a connectivity perspective).

    Finally, one can always wonder how Google will handle/track the content flowing over a “Google” network. Will everything be logged and stored in order to build customer profiles and to use that infomration to (better) deliver content based on individual interests? No one really knows, but clear is that a Google network will be a game changer, and it will also provide yet another alternative in our never ending quest for a higher speeds and “better” connections (“better” is not necessarily the same as “faster”). We can just also hope that it will provide for “better” pricing options, but that is probably a just pipe dream…

  • Steven Jones

    Re: previous comment

    - It’s more likely that the Google network will be less expensive than what we have now. Almost every service provided by Google is free or less expensive than the alternatives.

    - Verizon and Comcast log what you do and sell it to third parties. It will not be any worse putting the data in Google’s hands.

  • Steven Jones

    Re: previous comment

    - It’s more likely that the Google network will be less expensive than what we have now. Almost every service provided by Google is free or less expensive than the alternatives.

    - Verizon and Comcast log what you do and sell it to third parties. It will not be any worse putting the data in Google’s hands.

  • Kim

    I just have to ask: How many people living in Kirkland work at Microsoft? I do, and my guess is a lot of others do, too. It kinda pisses me off to see how much the Kirkland City Council seems to worship Google. Change the city’s name to Google? Are you kidding me? Yes, it’s a joke, but really it’s not so funny right in Microsoft’s backyard.

    • http://www.kirklandviews.com/ Rob Butcher

      Hi Kim,
      You make a good point. My guess is that there are many more citizens of Kirkland who rely on Microsoft for a living than there are relying on Google. Yes, Microsoft is in our backyard (mostly in Redmond and Bellevue) but Google is in our front yard. One possible reason for the Google-centric stance from City Hall is that Google pays a healthy head tax per employee (as does every business in Kirkland). Every dollar paid in taxes by Google is one less dollar homeowners will pay in taxes. I strongly support any company who locates in Kirkland, and I hope Microsoft will further expand in Kirkland too.
      Thanks for your comments.

    • Jim Hitter

      Kim,

      Well, wouldn’t it be nice if Microsoft offered some great benefits to Kirkland just because you and other “softies” live here? Maybe a super-fast network, or cheaper software. Just because the name on the system is Google doesn’t make it a bad thing for me (or does it?). Do you ever choose a more expensive or obscure routing because it’s an Airbus versus Boeing choice? How about those Ipods, Iphones and Macs in your neighborhood?

  • Kim

    I just have to ask: How many people living in Kirkland work at Microsoft? I do, and my guess is a lot of others do, too. It kinda pisses me off to see how much the Kirkland City Council seems to worship Google. Change the city’s name to Google? Are you kidding me? Yes, it’s a joke, but really it’s not so funny right in Microsoft’s backyard.

    • http://www.kirklandviews.com/ Rob Butcher

      Hi Kim,
      You make a good point. My guess is that there are many more citizens of Kirkland who rely on Microsoft for a living than there are relying on Google. Yes, Microsoft is in our backyard (mostly in Redmond and Bellevue) but Google is in our front yard. One possible reason for the Google-centric stance from City Hall is that Google pays a healthy head tax per employee (as does every business in Kirkland). Every dollar paid in taxes by Google is one less dollar homeowners will pay in taxes. I strongly support any company who locates in Kirkland, and I hope Microsoft will further expand in Kirkland too.
      Thanks for your comments.

    • Jim Hitter

      Kim,

      Well, wouldn’t it be nice if Microsoft offered some great benefits to Kirkland just because you and other “softies” live here? Maybe a super-fast network, or cheaper software. Just because the name on the system is Google doesn’t make it a bad thing for me (or does it?). Do you ever choose a more expensive or obscure routing because it’s an Airbus versus Boeing choice? How about those Ipods, Iphones and Macs in your neighborhood?

  • http://www.kirklandzoo.blogspot.com/ Per-Ola

    Did not say it is “worse” having Google log our traffic, but they have more made it into a business to truly use that information. In general, I think on-line privacy is truly a thing of the past, and we can partially decide how to be charged fo our connectivey services; pay for the connection, or have parts of it subsized by target ads and “profiling”.

    I am pretty sure that a 1 Gbit connection from Google will not be “cheap”. Looking at the recurring cost, I am more interested in getting “good” service at a low price, than a “super fast” service at a higher price. A little bit like a car, it can be fun with 400 hp, but we can get around just as well with 200 hp. Both provide the service we need/require.

    Still use my DOCSIS 1.0 modem from 2001 and though it is limited to 6 Mbit downstream, it has been “rock solid”, never failed, and provide bandwidth good enough for Netflix, Vonage, browsing, e-mail, etc , etc. Assuming we stay with Comcast (always a price issue) next step will be a DOCSIS 3.0 modem. The service has turned in to a commodity, but the number of players are to few, and hence competition is far from where it could be.

    In any case, Google will be welcomed – if they decide that we have what they are looking for!

  • http://www.kirklandzoo.blogspot.com Per-Ola

    Did not say it is “worse” having Google log our traffic, but they have more made it into a business to truly use that information. In general, I think on-line privacy is truly a thing of the past, and we can partially decide how to be charged fo our connectivey services; pay for the connection, or have parts of it subsized by target ads and “profiling”.

    I am pretty sure that a 1 Gbit connection from Google will not be “cheap”. Looking at the recurring cost, I am more interested in getting “good” service at a low price, than a “super fast” service at a higher price. A little bit like a car, it can be fun with 400 hp, but we can get around just as well with 200 hp. Both provide the service we need/require.

    Still use my DOCSIS 1.0 modem from 2001 and though it is limited to 6 Mbit downstream, it has been “rock solid”, never failed, and provide bandwidth good enough for Netflix, Vonage, browsing, e-mail, etc , etc. Assuming we stay with Comcast (always a price issue) next step will be a DOCSIS 3.0 modem. The service has turned in to a commodity, but the number of players are to few, and hence competition is far from where it could be.

    In any case, Google will be welcomed – if they decide that we have what they are looking for!