One of the most useful things I got out of yesterday’s Google Fiber press conference (well, aside from a sweet Google Fiber water bottle) is an insightful booklet called “An Introduction To Google Fiber.” It basically spells out what the next steps are for the Google Fiber rollout.
Of particular interest is the question of “how do I get Google Fiber in my neighborhood?” Google’s answer?
Our approach is to build where people want us.
Fiber optic cable will travel into your neighborhood into boxes called telecom cabinets. One of these cabinets can serve you and a few hundred of your neighbors with Fiber — we call this grouping your “fiberhood”.
That’s where you come in. For us to bring Google Fiber to you — i.e. for us to light up your local telecom cabinet with working Google Fiber service and then for us to bring that service right down the street and up to your house — you and your neighbors first need to tell us you want us. Each fiberhood will have a sign-up goal that you can see on our website by entering your address — and the process is transparent, so you and your neighbors can see how close your fiberhood is to the goal.
After you and your neighbors reach your goal, we’ll be able to bring fiber the last mile (or so) from the cabinet to your home.
Wondering why we do it this way? It’s because we focus our energy on a handful of fiberhoods at once, doing an all-out installation and construction blitz. We do this so we can provide you with better, faster service; we won’t make you wait around for a crew that’s stuck across town. After we’re done in one fiberhood, we’ll move on to the next.
Already, word of the Google Fiber signup page has lit up neighborhood email lists, Facebook pages, and NextDoor pages all across town. Geeks in Cary have organized a MeetUp to engage their neighbors in the signup strategy. Now that Raleigh has worked its way towards achieving Gig City status, it’s amusing to me to see neighborhoods vying amongst themselves to be the first “fiberhoods.”
I spoke with the Erik Garr, Head of Google Fiber Raleigh/Durham, at tonight’s reception. He insisted that the Google Fiber rollout would not simply target Raleigh’s wealthiest neighborhoods first. Instead, Google will include neighborhoods of all economic means. Mr. Garr emphasized that Google would be making good use of its free service. This approach makes me happy as it will mean Google Fiber’s presence will help bridge the “digital divide” rather than increase it (exponentially).
I highly encourage you to read the rest of the nuggets contained in Google’s booklet, downloadable from the City of Raleigh’s website.
Happy Fiber Hunting!