Google's Lightning-fast Fiber Network Now Live in Kansas City

By Melanie Pinola, PCWorld  

Google is launching its ultra-fast 1Gb-per-second Google Fiber Internet and Fiber TV service today in Kansas City.

Google announced last week that the gigabit network was coming, and here it is. Lucky residents of Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, can pre-register now at the Google Fiber websiteand rally their neighbors to pre-register to get Google Fiber (Google is building the network by demand).

Google Fiber promises to be 100 times faster than the average American broadband speed. To put this into perspective, using Google Fiber is sort of like driving from New York City to San Francisco in under a half hour.

The Google Fiber network box that comes with the service has four 1Gb Ethernet ports, but you can also connect your computers over Wi-Fi at 360Mb per second. The network box also offers a gigabit firewall.

Google is offering three plans. The Gigabit + TV service is $120 a month, with a $300 construction fee waived if you sign a two-year contract. The Fiber TV service offers a large selection of network and some cable channels in HD, including Showtime and Starz. Along with the package, Google is throwing in a free Nexus 7 (which isn't easy to find) and a TV box that records up to 500 hours and eight shows at once on its two terabytes of storage.

If you only want the Internet service, that'll run you $70 a month, again with the waived $300 construction fee with contract.

A free plan is also offered, but limits you to 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds, and requires the $300 construction fee. This might work if you can't afford the gigabit service, since the average Internet speed is only 5.8Mbps anyway, but it's difficult to give up a service that's 100 times faster.

Imagine: instantaneous downloads, video uploading in the blink of an eye, and immediate file sharing.

Google also suggests Google Fiber customers pick up a Chromebook, such as the refreshed Samsung Chromebook Series 5. With an Internet connection that fast, the inexpensive web-centric laptop may make a lot more sense.