Google launched its 1-gigabit-per-second broadband service in Kansas City today and also unveiled a new interactive television service called Google Fiber TV, in a move it hopes will push the broadband and paid TV industries to deploy speedier networks at a lower cost.
Google Fiber TV is a service that provides interactive search for TV that lets you search your DVR as well as content you have on services like Netflix. It will include a DVR with up to 500 hours of storage of shows and movies all in 1,080p High Definition. You can also record up to eight TV shows at once.
Google is charging every home that gets the fiber service $300 for the construction of the fiber link. But the company is waiving that fee for people who sign up initially for the service.
Google is offering three different packages. The Gigabit and Fiber TV service will cost $120 a month and will include 1Gbps connectivity on the upstream as well as downstream. There is no data cap. It also comes with 1 terabyte of Google Drive cloud storage. The TV service will include all the regular broadcast TV channels, hundreds of Google Fiber TV channels, thousands of TV shows on demand, and premium movie channels.
Google didn't say whether traditional cable channels such as Discovery or ESPN will be included in the package. The company will also be giving away free Google Android Nexus 7 tablets to everyone who signs up for this service.
The second package is for broadband-only customers. It will cost $70 a month and offer 1Gbps downloads and uploads. It will also provide the 1 terabyte of data storage, as well as a network box for offering the service.
For an introductory period, people who sign up for the two services won't have to pay the $300 construction fee.
The last package is geared toward the 25 percent of Kansas City area people who may not have broadband already. Google will offer this service for a limited time only. It will be free to customers who pay for the $300 fiber installation. And it will include 5Gbps download speeds and 1Gpbs upload speeds for seven years. Customers will have the option to upgrade the service to one of the other packages. Google will allow customers for this plan to pay for the $300 construction fee on a monthly basis -- $25 a month for the first year.
