[opendtv] Google Talks Up Fiber Expansion Plans | Multichannel
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 09:41:56 -0400
http://www.multichannel.com/news/technology/google-talks-fiber-expansion-plans/382596
Google Talks Up Fiber Expansion Plans
Google is on track with its exploration to expand Google Fiber to as many as 34
cities as they complete “checklists” that could pave the way for future
deployments, and the expectation is to announce the going-forward plan before
the end of the year, company SVP and CFO Patrick Pichette said Thursday on the
company’s second quarter earnings call.
Google Fiber has buildouts underway in Kansas City, Mo; Kansas City, Kan.;
Provo, Utah; and Austin, Texas. Under an expansion plan announced in February,
Google identified 34 cities in nine metros, including Nashville, Tenn.;
Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Salt Lake City; San Antonio; San
Jose; and Atlanta. Google is now working with those cities to determine where
it will build out its 1-Gig network.
Those cities are in the process of completing a readiness checklist (PDF) that
aims to streamline the process and to help keep the cost of construction in
check. Pichette said Google Fiber and the cities will be working out
rights-of-way, permitting and other details “over the coming months.”
Pichette also heaped some praise on the economics of Google Fiber, which,
unlike earlier competitive overbuilders, has sought approval for a demand-based
deployment plan that enables Google Fiber to target “fiberhoods” that meet
subscriber thresholds.
“The economics of a fiber network today are clearly much cheaper than they
were, say, a decade ago,” Pichette said. “There have been a lot of improvements
in cost reductions and technology components all through the fiber network, but
also in the way we build it…an important part of our strategy is actually to
build the demand.”
On the financial front, Google poste net income of $3.42 billion ($4.99 per
share), up almost 6%, on revenues of $15.96 billion, up 22% year-over-year.
Google also announced that Nikesh Arora, its chief business officer, is leaving
to take a new post at SoftBank, the Japan-based telecommunications company that
acquired Sprint last year.
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