It's all digital

Getting your Fiber

Google Fiber is finally available to select small businesses. Will it come to your area next?

By Chris Mosby

Google’s wide-reaching offerings (from search engines to cell phones) have just expanded a smidgen more.

The company has been dabbling with opening itself as an Internet Service Provider (ISP), providing pockets of the country (and specifically Kansas City, Kansas) with high-speed internet. However, prior to last month, Google’s internet offerings had been limited to public use, with businesses unable to join the network.

That changed November 11. Google Fiber (the name of the company’s ISP division) for Small Businesses debuted. The initial offering for businesses is fairly small, with two pockets of Kansas City having access to Fiber. According to Venture Beat, however, the company plans on expanding in Kansas City. Prior to Nov. 11, the company was offering select companies an early-access trial to Fiber.

So what makes Google Fiber newsworthy? Why should you care?

Google Fiber transmits data at roughly 1000 megabits per second (Mbps). That number may not initially mean anything to you. But 1000 Mbps is nearly 100 times faster than any other ISP’s offering available in America. It means that you could download almost anything instantaneously. Need to download a catalog of plant pictures? Done. Need to videochat with an extension specialist? No problem. Google Fiber makes anything possible.

Access to Google Fiber also gives you a terabyte of cloud storage space. That means, you can digitally store almost all of your company’s information.

And the price is more than reasonable. Google spokespeople have been quoted saying that the price for service, for small businesses, is about $100 a month. For the record, Google Fiber’s monthly charge to household customers is about $70.

One of the drawbacks of Fiber is that it’s simply not widely available. The network hasn’t existed for very long and resides mostly in urban areas (making it a difficult acquisition for rural operations). Fiber is currently available in Kansas City, Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah. The company’s website claims that it is currently in negotiations with 34 cities across the United States and could potentially be bringing super high-speed internet to towns like Portland, Oregon, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia.

Those 34 negotiations could take a while to progress. Google officials will meet with city officials, run through a “Fiber-ready” checklist of tasks and then conduct a thorough survey of the area. In addition, cities with bedrock or unusually difficult soil could be eliminated from receiving Fiber.

When, and if, Fiber becomes available nationwide (or at least in more than three cities) the ramifications could be wide reaching. Your ability to store information, share it with customers, process purchase orders or communicate with business partners will become quicker, easier and more powerful. Internet could also become a cheaper commodity for most users. Paying for high-speed internet, a must for some businesses, can become pricey very quickly. Having Google provide the service appears to deflate that cost.

For more: http://goo.gl/GcQmjU

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Lucas Greenhouse in New Jersey has some unique water disinfection practices.
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Defining net neutrality

Net neutrality.

It’s a buzzword that’s going to increase in usage and popularity over the next year (or years). Pundits on both sides of the aisle have spouted heated opinions on the topic and the internet is aflame with petitions and blogs dedicated solely to the topic.

So, let’s define net neutrality. The Internet currently operates without favoritism. That means that internet providers, like Comcast, AT&T, etc., cannot concern themselves with what is being delivered via their connection. All websites, and their associated content, have to be delivered at the same rate of speed.
 

From Twitter

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