[tsotha]

Google is really good at generating buzz, and instead of rolling out a plan which would have Google installing fiber in, say, every city over a certain size or everywhere east of the Mississippi, they're saying "we'll do this city, then this one, then this one..."

If the local politicians don't play ball, then there's no Google fiber. That's where the buzz comes in - "Why is Google installing everywhere else but not here?"

It's smart politics on Google's part, particularly since they're probably not willing to sink in enough capital to do more than a few markets a year anyway.

[hrkristian]

Well made point. Combine that with chrissnell's point [1] and it makes even more sense in my mind.

Google Fiber isn't really necessary for the common household, yet. They might be mixing an investment in start-ups with a political agenda. For the latter, if they can push the competition in the rest of the U.S. to even 10% of their offering you'll still have a massive speed increase (and a brand spankin' new infrastructure).

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7397174