Google’s latest scheme to change the world is starting in a very unlikely place – Kansas City, Kansas. You’ve probably already heard the big news – they’re installing their own version of a big, old internet service that’s reasonably priced at $70 dollars a month and if you sign up for two years, the $300 installation fee is waived. The best part is that the speed of the internet is about one gig per second, which is more than double some of the most expensive and fast internet speeds you can purchase these days.
Not only that, Google is rolling out it’s own version of pay TV, too. For $120 bucks a month, you get internet and a cable TV subscription. This is all part of a larger plan to change the market so that customers aren’t so screwed over anymore. Great idea, right? Right.
It seems like a dream come true, but there are a couple problems here and there that Google needs to work out first. First, just because your internet speeds are doubled or tripled or 100x faster doesn’t’ mean you’ll notice much of a difference. It really matters what the website you’re hooking up to is prepared for. So, for example, if Facebook is only available at one meg downloads per second, a one gig internet connection isn’t gonna do diddly squat.
Second, where the heck is ESPN? ESPN is one of the most pricey networks out there for cable companies to provide, but that’s not surprising. It’s also one of the most important channels. Nobody takes anything but sports as serious as anything else, not even the Olympics.
So is Google really offering anything that substantial? The answer is, not really. The best thing they’re doing is changing the game so that cable and internet will become cheaper for you and me, but otherwise, you’re not getting anything special from them. Especially since you have to live in Kansas (eww) to get it.
