Google´s fiber optic awards delayed until 2011
By Max BurkhalterDecember 16, 2010
Communities hoping to receive one of Google’s experimental, high-speed fiber optic networks will have to wait a bit longer. The company recently announced in a blog post that the announcement of the winners has been delayed until early 2011.
In February 2010, Google announced it was launching an experimental series of networks to test its super-fast fiber optic cable. The company claimed its fiber optic network could achieve speeds of up to 1 GB per second.
“We're planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We'll deliver internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today,” the company said in a blog post.
While Google claimed its network might someday provide service to half a million people, the company announced it would initially award specific communities with a high-speed broadband network.
Google was expected to announce the winners of the contest by the end of 2010. However, the company said the sheer number of applicants forced it to delay the announcement.
“We had planned to announce our selected community or communities by the end of this year, but the level of interest was incredible - nearly 1,100 communities across the country responded to our announcement - and exceeded our expectations,” wrote Milo Medin, vice president of Google’s access services. “While we’re moving ahead full steam on this project, we’re not quite ready to make that announcement.”
Google recently hired Medin to oversee the fiber optic network’s rollout. According to Ed Oswald of Betanews.com, Medin is a renowned expert of internet networking. He is credited with pushing TCP/IP forward in the 1980’s as a standard for internet connectivity.
“Over the past several months I've been following the progress the team has already made - from experimenting with new fiber deployment technologies here on Google's campus, to announcing a 'beta' network to 850 homes at Stanford University,” said Medin.
The Stanford project is Google’s first experiment with its fiber optic network. In October, Google selected the Palo Alto, California-based univerisity as a test location, providing 850 faculty and staff homes with its 1 GBPS fiber optic broadband connection.
In February 2010, Google announced it was launching an experimental series of networks to test its super-fast fiber optic cable. The company claimed its fiber optic network could achieve speeds of up to 1 GB per second.
“We're planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We'll deliver internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today,” the company said in a blog post.
While Google claimed its network might someday provide service to half a million people, the company announced it would initially award specific communities with a high-speed broadband network.
Google was expected to announce the winners of the contest by the end of 2010. However, the company said the sheer number of applicants forced it to delay the announcement.
“We had planned to announce our selected community or communities by the end of this year, but the level of interest was incredible - nearly 1,100 communities across the country responded to our announcement - and exceeded our expectations,” wrote Milo Medin, vice president of Google’s access services. “While we’re moving ahead full steam on this project, we’re not quite ready to make that announcement.”
Google recently hired Medin to oversee the fiber optic network’s rollout. According to Ed Oswald of Betanews.com, Medin is a renowned expert of internet networking. He is credited with pushing TCP/IP forward in the 1980’s as a standard for internet connectivity.
“Over the past several months I've been following the progress the team has already made - from experimenting with new fiber deployment technologies here on Google's campus, to announcing a 'beta' network to 850 homes at Stanford University,” said Medin.
The Stanford project is Google’s first experiment with its fiber optic network. In October, Google selected the Palo Alto, California-based univerisity as a test location, providing 850 faculty and staff homes with its 1 GBPS fiber optic broadband connection.
