[colejohnson66]

Because rolling out fiber (alongside competitors) to everyone (including those who won't join your network) is a big investment that may not pay for itself. What needs to happen is cities roll out their own fiber and lease it to the ISPs. Then Google won't have to deal with the problems moving pole wires or digging has.

What Google is doing is ditching fiber for wireless. That way they don't have to bother rolling fiber to people who don't want it. And before someone says wireless is slower than fiber, a directional antenna can get you pretty fast speeds. I don't know the actual numbers, but I think you can still get gigabit over wireless if done right.

[kruptos]

I work at a fairly large WISP and we have 10 Gbps wireless point to point backhauls. We also provide customers 1000/1000 Mbps fiber like wireless point to point WAN connections.

[hanklazard]

Sounds great. I'm trapped in an apt building with Comcast as the only broadband option. As soon as there's a reasonable point-to-point wireless that I can put in my 10th story window, I'm in.

[narrowrail]

Don't these wireless signals eventually go to cables? Can you imagine if everyone in your building had point-to-point connections? How many dish antennas is that? I hope more municipalities pursue their own fiber in the future.

[dylz]

Webpass (in SF) does a PTP wireless link on the top of each building, then ethernet to each unit from there, ~500+mbps for 30-40/m (paid yearly)

[DiabloD3]

Come to Ellsworth, Maine, and I will give you money. We pay insane money for very little.

[aswanson]

I always thought wimax was going to be the Comcas t killer. Don't understand why it never happened.

[kruptos]

WiMax is a joke compared the point to multipoint LTE solutions in the 2.5 and 3.65 spectrum.

[jdavis703]

I have Google wireless ISP service (via Webpass). The speeds are easily running at 500Mbs.