Google Fiber in Austin?

[Brent]

Looks like Google Fiber just might be going to Austin, TX next. Any SageTVers in the Austin area?

http://mashable.com/2013/04/06/google-fiber-austin/

I'm (im)patiently waiting for a Google Fiber Install later this Summer if things stay on schedule in the Kansas City area and will share with everyone what I learn - especially the SageTV insides of the Google Fiber TV product. If this Austin news is for real, it reflects a strong push by Google to make this more than a small experiment imo.

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by Brent

Looks like Google Fiber just might be going to Austin, TX next. Any SageTVers in the Austin area?

http://mashable.com/2013/04/06/google-fiber-austin/

I'm (im)patiently waiting for a Google Fiber Install later this Summer if things stay on schedule in the Kansas City area and will share with everyone what I learn - especially the SageTV insides of the Google Fiber TV product. If this Austin news is for real, it reflects a strong push by Google to make this more than a small experiment imo.

I never thought for a second about KC being a small experiment, Google is a global company and therefore it will go global, just wait and see...

Europe...Europe...Europe...Europe...

[dgeezer]

But you've already got better pubs and more vacation time.

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by dgeezer

But you've already got better pubs and more vacation time.

I would happily trade some pubs for a better weather

[panteragstk]

Looks like I may be moving a bit closer to the in-laws. Is it sad that a TV/internet service makes me want to move?

[samgreco]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

Is it sad that a TV/internet service makes me want to move?

No.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

Is it sad that a TV/internet service makes me want to move?

I'd love to have the 'new' SageTV - but I have no problems with my current ISP (Charter). I have never used it's peak bandwidth for anything 'legal'. Going a lot faster on the home connection is likely to just limit on the server end.

And regarding the new TV stuff - I'm not sure REALLY what google fiber would offer me that I don't already have - short of perhaps better netflix integration, and a different UI.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I'd love to have the 'new' SageTV - but I have no problems with my current ISP (Charter). I have never used it's peak bandwidth for anything 'legal'. Going a lot faster on the home connection is likely to just limit on the server end.

And regarding the new TV stuff - I'm not sure REALLY what google fiber would offer me that I don't already have - short of perhaps better netflix integration, and a different UI.

Hmm.
I'm on TWC & it's awful. I have the 2nd level of internet speed they sell and it's slow - especially for streaming netflix, youtube etc. It's worse at certain peak times of the day. The TV stuff is okay, but they've move most things digital so not having to deal with that would be wonderful. Plus the tablet & mobile stuff Google Fiber TV has done looks pretty good.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Brent

Hmm.
I'm on TWC & it's awful. I have the 2nd level of internet speed they sell and it's slow - especially for streaming netflix, youtube etc. It's worse at certain peak times of the day. The TV stuff is okay, but they've move most things digital so not having to deal with that would be wonderful. Plus the tablet & mobile stuff Google Fiber TV has done looks pretty good.

Yeah, TWC is one of the worst providers in the country. Luckily, in the Riverside, CA area, we don't have to deal with that. We have Charter available throughout - UVerse in most of the area, and Fios in a lot of the newer areas. Charter, though, is definitely the best I have available. I only have the 30/4Mbps service, but it runs right at that, all the time. They also offer 100/5Mbps which i trialed for a bit, but it was never really worth it, as I almost never experienced servers that could provide over about 24Mbps.

Now, if all of my television was also squeezed into the same bandwidth, like with google fiber, THEN perhaps I could see a need for higher than 30Mbps - but for now, the needs just aren't there for internet alone.

An interesting 'real world' comparison of ISP's is actually done by Netflix, by tracking what speed customers are receiving and what ISP they are connected from: http://ispspeedindex.netflix.com/

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Brent

I'm (im)patiently waiting for a Google Fiber Install later this Summer if things stay on schedule in the Kansas City area and will share with everyone what I learn - especially the SageTV insides of the Google Fiber TV product. If this Austin news is for real, it reflects a strong push by Google to make this more than a small experiment imo.

Given the pace of this rollout it still looks like an experirment to me. The Austin rollout is supposed to start in mid-2014. Didn't they start in KC in mid-2012? So they will add a new mid (no offense) sized city every two years? This pace is way too slow especially in the tech world where we are living dog years.

Here's what I am talking about KC is the 30th largest US metro area and Austin is 35th. So in another 15 years they will have the 30 or so largest metro areas in the US covered.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by wayner

Given the pace of this rollout it still looks like an experirment to me. The Austin rollout is supposed to start in mid-2014. Didn't they start in KC in mid-2012? So they will add a new mid (no offense) sized city every two years? This pace is way too slow especially in the tech world where we are living dog years.

Here's what I am talking about KC is the 30th largest US metro area and Austin is 35th. So in another 15 years they will have the 30 or so largest metro areas in the US covered.

It probably seems slow. But have you ever had fiber run to a single building? We did for our office at work via AT&T and it was terribly slow just for that.
In KC, they began installing "fiber huts" in late Fall 2012 & stringing and digging/installing fiber along streets. The first small neighborhood was "connected" late Fall and they are now ramping up in terms of number of installs in a much larger part of the urban areas of KC, KS & now KC, MO. So yeah, it's been slow since the announcement, but I imagine we'll see it continue to build faster and faster each month in terms of volume.

In Austin they will do much the same. Install Fiber huts, install lines along streets all over the place and then begin sign-ups and installs neighborhood by neighborhood. It will probably start small like KC, and then build much faster from there. Remember, they are starting from scratch. This isn't like TWC upgrading their already existing equipment and lines. It's all brand new stuff.

I wouldn't be shocked to see another couple of cities added to the list by early next year. Not going to blanket the US or world with that pace, but it's fast enough to make the CableCo's nervous. I guess in the end I agree with you Wayne that we won't have Google Fiber in even 1/4 of major cities in 5 years. But I bet we see it in several and I bet we see the biggest markets begin to get something like it from the CableCo's and Telcom companies.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I'd love to have the 'new' SageTV - but I have no problems with my current ISP (Charter). I have never used it's peak bandwidth for anything 'legal'. Going a lot faster on the home connection is likely to just limit on the server end.

I am on a 150/10 internet connection and I love it - going to 1 Gbps would be totally awesome.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Brent

It probably seems slow. But have you ever had fiber run to a single building? We did for our office at work via AT&T and it was terribly slow just for that.

My first job out of University was a a System Lineup and Testing engineer for Northern Telecom on Fiber Optic Transmission Systems in the late 80s so I saw a lot of this for several years, at least as it pertains to the telco backbone. It is a slow job which is why you have to throw lots of manpower at it which is why it is expensive. But we managed to get the developed world covered with thousands (millions?) of miles of fiber in not too many years, although that has not genearlly been to individual homes.

But the cities seem motivated to get this done, the mayor of Austin was part of the announcement, so that should help.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I'd love to have the 'new' SageTV - but I have no problems with my current ISP (Charter). I have never used it's peak bandwidth for anything 'legal'. Going a lot faster on the home connection is likely to just limit on the server end.

And regarding the new TV stuff - I'm not sure REALLY what google fiber would offer me that I don't already have - short of perhaps better netflix integration, and a different UI.

TWC is fine in Allen, TX (north of dallas). I have 30/5 and don't have issues, I just wish upload was higher than 5. I tend to stream quite a bit from the house.

DirecTV has been great for me and I can't think of how Google Fiber could be "better", but I'd like to play with sage 8 (even though it's probably totally closed).

Having had fiber once I'd like to have it again. Even though TWC internet is OK here, I still get hick-ups on netflix during peak hours on the weekend. Rare, but it happens.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

TWC is fine in Allen, TX (north of dallas). I have 30/5 and don't have issues, I just wish upload was higher than 5. I tend to stream quite a bit from the house.
....
Having had fiber once I'd like to have it again. Even though TWC internet is OK here, I still get hick-ups on netflix during peak hours on the weekend. Rare, but it happens.

That is, specifically, the problem that TWC normally has. Keep in mind that the highest bitrate feed that Netflix serves is only 3Mbps - so if you are getting hiccups, you are getting less than 10% of your advertised performance. It has to do with TWC's standards in how many customers they allow per segment. Charter, Cablevision, and some other companies break their system up into far more segments, so the peak time degradation is much more limited. About the only thing that saturates my Charter 30/4 service is usenet downloads, where I consistently get 32Mbps most the day, and it drops to about 24Mbps during peak times. Certainly not a big enough drop to affect streaming performance.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

That is, specifically, the problem that TWC normally has. Keep in mind that the highest bitrate feed that Netflix serves is only 3Mbps - so if you are getting hiccups, you are getting less than 10% of your advertised performance. It has to do with TWC's standards in how many customers they allow per segment. Charter, Cablevision, and some other companies break their system up into far more segments, so the peak time degradation is much more limited. About the only thing that saturates my Charter 30/4 service is usenet downloads, where I consistently get 32Mbps most the day, and it drops to about 24Mbps during peak times. Certainly not a big enough drop to affect streaming performance.

I'll have to test usenet during these peak hours. I ALWAYS get 30mbps when using it, but haven't paid attention to what it is during the problem times.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

I'll have to test usenet during these peak hours. I ALWAYS get 30mbps when using it, but haven't paid attention to what it is during the problem times.

It is also possible that your netflix problems are not a result of insufficient bandwidth, but lost packets. Usenet programs that run 8+ message downloads at a time are less succeptible to lost packets causing bandwidth loss, because if packets get lost from one small download, it only affects taht small part, and that is all that has to get retransmitted. netflix, however, only has to lose a few packets before it basically runs out of buffer from retransmissions.

[eric3a]

I have never used it's peak bandwidth for anything 'legal'.

The only reason I ever max out my bandwith is that I like checking my email at full speed. And kitty videos on youtube.

The only big downloads I do are large legally down-loadable linux distros. I download a few every day it seems.
(That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Eric

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

It is also possible that your netflix problems are not a result of insufficient bandwidth, but lost packets. Usenet programs that run 8+ message downloads at a time are less succeptible to lost packets causing bandwidth loss, because if packets get lost from one small download, it only affects taht small part, and that is all that has to get retransmitted. netflix, however, only has to lose a few packets before it basically runs out of buffer from retransmissions.

I thought the same, but it is so rare that I haven't tested it. The only time it seems to happen is during these peak times, so I went into assumption mode. I think it may have happened maybe twice ever.

[Dargason]

I'm happy with my 30mb/s down (charter) but I wish I could increase my upload rate. I think it's only about 3mb/s.