Stanford Gets Blessed With High-Speed Fiber, How About The Rest of Us?

Like some sort of archangel descended from internet heaven, Google has bathed Stanford University in glorious high-speed goodness as part of the beta test of their new gigabit fiber network. Since the program was announced, the service, which is now being provided free to students and faculty in the Palo Alto area, has caused a lot of people to ask (sometimes beg) that their city be next on Big G's list for communication salvation. But can Google save us all from crappy internet? And more importantly, is it a good idea to let them?

As it stands, the broadband situation in the United States is pretty dismal, and it's the big telecoms, cable companies and the federal government who are to blame. Because companies like AT&T, Verizon and Time Warner Cable aren't sharing the overwhelming majority of American copper wiring that they currently own, costs stay high and speeds stay slow. If you ever wondered why our friends in Europe enjoy blazing-fast internet at a fraction of the cost we pay here, it's because their governments force the companies to offer shares of this portion of internet tubes — typically known as the last mile — to smaller companies at an affordable cost.

In the UK, for example, British Telecom (BT) used to be the ones dominating the last mile. But the government stepped in and now there are hundreds of providers offering high-speed broadband at insanely low costs. Competition steps in, BT gets money for the use of their copper, and everyone wins.

Engadget's Rick Karr explains:

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Google's mission is different: Instead of working to reform the American duopoly system, they're building their own network of high-speed fiberoptics—technology that is several times faster than regular old copper networks. But before you get too hung up on dreams of liberation, remember that Google is calling this "an experiment." They want to find out how these networks can be deployed and how they can empower the next generation of web apps. And while it's possible this might expand into a kind of 3rd choice for American broadband users, letting Google have the reins may or may not be a great idea.

It really all boils down to how much you're buying Google's "don't be evil" mantra. If any company similar to them were to do this, it would likely attract a lot of backlash from net neutrality advocates, who know well the abuses that can occur when marrying ISPs with content. Google's current stance seems content on offering fiber through a large number of providers. But considering the absurd lobbying pressure exerted by big telcos and Google's tendency to cave at the first sign of opposition, there's no telling whether their mission to restore balance (if that even is their mission) will survive under future policy.

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