Ultimate Proof That Google Fiber Is Not Serious

[SteelCrysis]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2...-broadband

“There’s a lot more bark than bite” behind Google’s strategy, said Roger Entner, an analyst with Recon Analytics LLC.
...
“Any time Google is doing three, AT&T is doing 30 cities,” Entner said.
...
Consumers often stick with the incumbents, even if they get speeds slower than 1 gigabit. Many customers in Provo, Utah, where Google Fiber was rolled out in 2014, have managed to wrangle lower rates by calling their existing providers and threatening to switch, said Wayne Parker, chief administrative officer for the city.
...
She declined to comment on whether Alphabet would consider buying an existing telecom or cable company to speed up the Fiber rollout. While the company doesn’t release subscriber numbers, Google Fiber is expanding into seven more cities, although it declined to provide a timeline.

So far, analysts say Google isn’t making a dent in the incumbents’ results.

“Nowhere in this discussion of cable subscribers has Google even been relevant,” said Paul Sweeney, director of North American research at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Internet provider CenturyLink Inc.’s chief marketing officer, Bill Hurley, said in a statement that Google Fiber “had no impact” on the company’s decision to offer 1 gigabit service in portions of 19 states. The competition would help bring high-speed Internet access to underserved areas, he said. Google and other companies have been criticized for focusing on wealthy neighborhoods.
...
The incumbents are benefiting from Google’s entry as cities relax their requirements for buildouts, and strive to reduce permitting and other costs.

“Growing customer demand, advancing technologies and pro-investment municipal policies that lower construction costs have accelerated our recent network deployments,” AT&T said last week in a statement.

In Austin, Texas, for instance, Google has been allowed to experiment with micro-trenching -- digging shallower pits for the fiber than are typically used.

“The activation is much faster and less expensive,” said Rondella Hawkins, officer of telecommunications and regulatory affairs for the Texas capital.

Meanwhile, Atlanta is talking with Google and other providers about splitting the costs of opening up roads in places with existing municipal fiber, which the city wants to upgrade, said Kristin Wilson, Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer.

With three major providers fighting it out, “we are thrilled,” she said. “We want options and competition for our citizens.”

Of course, DSLReport's response is to spin, spin, spin! http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Googl...ice-136827