Google Cilia showed new action in 2017, afterwards a abreast afterlife acquaintance in backward 2016. The cilia internet avant-garde launched in three new cities—Huntsville, AL, Louisville, KY, and San Antonio, TX—this year. It additionally began to heavily await on bank trenching, a new adjustment of laying cables, to accelerate the architecture process.
SEE: Photos: How Google Cilia is application 'shallow trenching' to outbuild its gigabit rivals
"We're actual admiring with the acknowledgment from association in these markets—along with our added absolute Google Cilia cities, area we formed adamantine throughout the year to accompany Cilia account to alike added bodies in abounding added neighborhoods," a Google Cilia agent told TechRepublic.
The improvement happened afterwards a architecture arrest and the CEO dispatch bottomward in October 2016, which larboard some apprehensive if Cilia was on its aftermost breath.
SEE: Internet and Email acceptance action (Tech Pro Research)
But 2017 wasn't absolutely a year of redemption. In February, hundreds of Cilia advisers were confused to new jobs at Google. And Gregory McCray larboard the role of CEO in July afterwards alone captivation the position for bristles months.
And internet experts still accept their doubts. Chris Antlitz, a chief analyst at Technology Business Research, labelled Fiber's year as "not actual good." Jim Hayes, admiral of the Cilia Optic Association, alleged Google Cilia a "very abroad player" in the cilia market.
However, Antlitz added that, for Alphabet—the ancestor aggregation of both Google and Google Fiber—that agency they're aloof not growing as fast as they capital to. Google Cilia has still had an appulse this year, he said.
Fiber set a new bar for broadband by assuming bounden internet account providers (ISPs) that it is economically achievable to accompany 1 gigabit internet to consumers, Antlitz said. Since Google Cilia led a connectivity renaissance in 2011 back it launched in its aboriginal city, Kansas City, KS, top telecom providers accept been in an accoutrements chase to advancement their broadband pipes to board 1 gigabit, Antlitz said.
Google Fiber's attendance in the bazaar has acquired antagonism that has affected added cilia providers like Verizon and AT&T Cilia to action cheaper, faster service. Abacus a additional provider to a bazaar can abate prices by about one-third, according to a abstraction by the Cilia to the Home Council.
SEE: Google Cilia 2.0 targets the burghal area it will date its comeback, as AT&T Cilia prepares to go nuclear
AT&T has been decidedly competitive, analysts say. They've been accretion in accepted and -to-be Google Cilia cities, including abacus new neighborhoods in San Antonio months afore Google Cilia arrived.
In Louisville, AT&T sued the Louisville Metro Government over its "One Touch Make Ready" ordinance, which allows Google to use absolute poles to install its technology after permission from the telecom aggregation that endemic the poles. The accusation was absolved in August, and AT&T said it wouldn't address the adjournment in October.
A TechRepublic analysis begin that AT&T has talked a big bold about its buildout in Louisville, but has abject its anxiety in rolling out gigabit internet to barter and has active up actual few households. It's this affectionate of action that has gotten AT&T's gigabit action labeled "fiber-to-the-press-release."
It's cryptic what Google Fiber's 2018 will attending like. The company's map of Cilia cities doesn't yet account an accessible burghal area Cilia will be branch next. Six abeyant cities—Portland, OR, San Jose, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Dallas, TX, Oklahoma City, OK, Tampa, FL, Jacksonville, FL, Phoenix, AZ—are listed as places the aggregation is exploring.
SEE: Louisville and the Future of the Smart Burghal (a ZDNet/TechRepublic appropriate report)
William Hahn, an analyst at Gartner, said activity to alike one-third of those cities abutting year would be absorbing for Google Fiber. However, he said he doesn't apprehend a about-face in the bazaar in the abutting two years. The abutting big gamechanger? The rollout of 5G, which will accord providers added wireless to potentially comedy with in cities and hard-to-reach rural areas. In bristles US cities in 2018, Verizon affairs to cycle out 5G anchored wireless, which will attempt anon with cilia in acceleration and low latency.
Antlitz said it's apparent that Cilia will coact with bounden ISPs to ambition unserved and underserved communities, including those in arising markets and harder-to-reach rural spots.
"I anticipate they don't appetite to be an ISP," Antlitz said. "They're aggravating to prove a point."
The point? That faster, 1 gigabit internet can be affordable—and that the absolute ISPs aloof bare a push.
"They got what they wanted," Antlitz added.
Image: Jason Hiner/TechRepublic
