Google Starts Running Fiber In Kansas City

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Google Starts Running Fiber In Kansas City

Posted by samzenpus on Monday February 6, 2012 @06:00AM from the lets-get-it-started-in-here dept.

New submitter Kiyyik writes "After weeks of wrangling over shared space on utility poles, Google and the KC Board of Public Utilities have gotten their act together and Google is starting to wire Kansas City, Kansas today. They will be paying attachment fees and hanging the fiber optic lines in the space on the poles reserved for telecommunications. The Kansas City, Missouri side is still on track to begin a few months behind the Kansas side."

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Re:Google by petteyg359 · 2012-02-06 06:04 · Score: 5, Insightful

They'll be a better overlord than AT&T...
I can't wait by NabisOne · 2012-02-06 06:05 · Score: 2

As a Kansas City, MO resident it is exciting to see this happening here.
1. Re:I can't wait by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 06:11 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  and as a non-Kansas City resident I would like to say "I hope you choke on your gigabit... that glorious wonderfull gigabit..."
2. Re:I can't wait by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 06:12 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  You mean just like every other ISP on Earth? Who cares you chucklefuck.
3. Re:I can't wait by SJHillman · 2012-02-06 06:16 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  It's going on existing utility poles, which tells me two things:
  1) It's much, much cheaper for the initial implementation as well as any additions or repairs later on compared to burying it
  2) The poles already exist, so tornadoes are likely already accounted for by the existing infrastructure
4. Re:I can't wait by Shatrat · 2012-02-06 06:25 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  You're correct. I work in this industry.
  UG fiber is several times more expensive per mile than Aerial fiber. It's somewhat less vulnerable to cuts, but much more difficult to locate and repair those cuts when they happen (especially rat chews or horizontal boring damage) so it's a bit of a wash really.
  
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5. Re:I can't wait by Rasperin · 2012-02-06 07:22 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  As a Shawnee, KS (just about 5minutes from North Kansas City, KS) resident I can only think of one tornado that has come close to this area in the last 12 years (I think there might have been one in 1999) and the amount of damage it did was rip a few roof tiles off a house. Tornados do a pretty good job of staying out of this area, however that doesn't mean we don't get 70-100mph winds every so often that knock down said poles. Honestly, those days seem to do more damage in this area than tornados do.
  
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6. Re:I can't wait by Shatrat · 2012-02-06 07:24 · Score: 2
  
  If I had to guess they're contractors and are wearing hi-viz yellow and orange, and the fiber is going to be plain black All Dielectric Self Supporting fiber going up on poles that probably already have other companies fiber, as well as copper, and cable TV facilities hanging on them. Most people drive past thousands of miles of fiber every day (if you go by individual strand) and don't notice it. If you see a black cable going into a large black canister, that's a splice case. If you see a cable doubled back on itself using a horseshoe looking device that's a slack loop.
  
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7. Re:I can't wait by RatherBeAnonymous · 2012-02-06 07:59 · Score: 2
  
  Fiber is remarkably durable. Last Spring we had bad storm roll through that took down 8 utility poles along the road right in front of work. The power was out, cable TV lines snapped, phone lines had to be restrung, but the fiber on those poles never broke. Once power was restored our Internet connection was back up. The hospital about 5 miles down the road is also serviced by that fiber trunk and never lost service. The ISP, who had not gotten any reports yet from the utility companies, had no idea there was a problem other than the connection dropping at my work.
8. Re:I can't wait by Shatrat · 2012-02-06 16:18 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  A horizontal borer is used to put in underground cable and conduit without trenching. Its the only way to get across railway or highway but if you hit another cable or utility its the end of the damn world.
  
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I can wait by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 06:10 · Score: 2, Funny

As a Kansas City, MO non-resident it is not exciting to see this happening there.
Still a bit confused... by Darkness404 · 2012-02-06 06:11 · Score: 2, Insightful

Really though, I'm still a bit confused with how Kansas City managed to get Google's fiber optic cables when really it was Topeka that should have been chosen...

Either way, a good development that should help the KC area get more technology companies and make it a bit more livable.

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Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
1. Re:Still a bit confused... by Aladrin · 2012-02-06 06:18 · Score: 2
  
  Maybe he means http://www.geekologie.com/2010/03/topeka-kansas-renamed-google-k.php
  
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  "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
2. Re:Still a bit confused... by icebike · 2012-02-06 06:41 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Square miles is square miles. You don't run everything that big from a single backbone location.
  Building in two cities in two different states brings in not just the regulation of two states but also the federal government regs.
  Its a perfect storm of red tape. If the project survives this it could be replicated anywhere, even in the People's Republic of Santa Monica. This is as much of an experiment for Google as any thing else.
  .
  
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  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
3. Re:Still a bit confused... by Hadlock · 2012-02-06 07:14 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Not mentioned: Kansas City is a combined city-county government. That roughly halves the amount of city level and county level paperwork, only one board to brib^H^H^H^H inform, one set of telecommunication laws to study etc etc. Many other medium-sized cities have distinct city and county level governments (in addition to State government).
  
  TL;DR Kansas City has one fewer governing body & sets of laws/jurisdiction (2 vs 3) than most cities it's size do.
  
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  moox. for a new generation.
Re:Google by peragrin · 2012-02-06 06:38 · Score: 5, Informative

Most likely not. However google is laying fiber where AT&T won't even update its breaking copper in most cities.

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i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
OK, now they're doing it right. by Animats · 2012-02-06 07:01 · Score: 2

OK, now they're hanging cable in the telecommunications area of the pole, where it's supposed to go. Putting it up with the power lines was a stupid idea to begin with. You don't work up there unless you have to, and then you have to turn off the power or use long "hot sticks".
Re:This is news? by imjustmatthew · 2012-02-06 07:02 · Score: 2

Gigabit fiber from Verizon? No, I didn't think so.
FWIW, I have Verizon FiOS here, and it's nicer than anything else in the area, but it doesn't hold a candle to what a real high speed connection could look like from Google. Especially since Google owns so much of it's own long-distance backbone, I'm betting their local fiber is going to be wired up pretty well to the rest of the internet tubes.
Re:My wasted youth by localman57 · 2012-02-06 07:06 · Score: 5, Funny

Reading Comprehension Question #22:

Based on the paragraph above, interkin3tic had:

A. AOL Dialup
B. A pager
C. Both AOL Dialup and a Pager
D. Neither AOL Dialup or a Pager
Re:I didn't have to wait. by Ihmhi · 2012-02-06 07:43 · Score: 4, Funny

As a resident of the Newark, NJ area, I lament the fact that most of the copper wire has been stolen. The Internet is going out all over the neighbo
NO CARRIER

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Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Sabotage by SuperTechnoNerd · 2012-02-06 07:57 · Score: 2

I wonder how long it will take incumbent telcoms to sabotage their infrastructure, like happend(s) here between time-warner & verizon.
Re:My wasted youth by interkin3tic · 2012-02-06 08:21 · Score: 4, Informative

It was supposed to be A. By "Not so much as a pager" I meant I did not even have a pager, let alone a smartphone. I don't consider myself an expert in writing, so I apologize if that was poor writing.
Re:My wasted youth by localman57 · 2012-02-06 08:23 · Score: 2

You're fine. Was Spoofing the guy who responded. :-)
Re:I didn't have to wait. by NJRoadfan · 2012-02-06 09:09 · Score: 2

At least Verizon is rolling out Fios in Newark to make up for it.... oh wait, thats because the State of New Jersey is requiring them to in exchange for that sweet state wide TV franchise they got. One of the provisions for the franchise was to wire all 21 county seats in the state of Fios, even if they are in areas where Verizon isn't the ILEC.
Re:Not enough reason to live there ... by Oswald+McWeany · 2012-02-06 09:15 · Score: 2

I don't think there is much "fiber" in BBQ.

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"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Restrictions? by nilbog · 2012-02-06 10:59 · Score: 2

I'm interested in what Google will allow on their network. As I understand it, they want to see what creative things people will do with gigabit connections in their homes. Does that mean Google will allow people to run their own webservers, etc? I'm also interested in learning some of the things that Google *thinks* people might do with such speedy connections.
My state has a fiber optic network but most cities have banned it because Comcast successfully lobbied against it as "unfair competition." I guess it takes someone as big as Google to overcome that sort of thing.

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or else!