google

Provo council approves FTTH system sale to Google

23 April 2013 by Steve Blum
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Provo’s newest resident.

In a series of unanimous votes, the Provo municipal council voted tonight to approve the sale of the city’s fiber-to-the-home network to Google. The benefits to Provo and its citizens – free (more or less) Internet service for at least seven years, connections for city and school facilities and millions of dollars invested in finishing the build out of the system – were praised by the council and members of the public.… More

Details of Google's Provo FTTH purchase emerging

22 April 2013 by Steve Blum
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Did you really expect it would be free as in beer?

Provo residents will be paying at least $5.35 a month via their City utility bills for their otherwise free Google Internet service for the next seven years, according to the Associated Press. Documents released by the City of Provo back up that report and provide further details on the purchase, although some questions still remain.

Under the terms of the deal that the Provo City Council considers Tuesday, Google buys the FTTH system for a token amount (like, a couple of bucks), and agrees to build out the system to more or less every residence.… More

Taking on Provo failure proves Google is serious about FTTH

17 April 2013 by Steve Blum
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You risk your mojo, you risk everything baby.

The troubled municipal fiber to the home system in Provo, Utah will soon be Google’s problem, assuming the city council signs off next week. The terms of the deal haven’t been released yet, but Google’s selling proposition is that it will connect all the homes along the existing fiber route and provide them free 5 Mbps Internet service for at least seven years. The only cost would be a $30 connection fee.… More

AT&T gets the Googlefinger

9 April 2013 by Steve Blum
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I guess it’s just coincidence your suit fits too, Mr. Bond.

“Mr Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.”

AT&T is reacting to Google’s Austin announcement with the same paranoia that Auric Goldfinger eyed James Bond on their second, not-so-accidental meeting. The Texas capital is now positioned to get gigabit service from both companies.

It’s Google’s second venture into fiber to the home service, which could mean they just want to check results from what is still an experiment in Kansas City.… More

Libraries are the killer app for Chromebook

1 April 2013 by Steve Blum
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Fastest library in the West?

Google’s Chromebooks have found a very useful niche in California libraries, thanks to a pilot program by the State Library. Jarrid Keller, acting deputy state librarian, outlined the project in a presentation to the California Broadband Council.

Internet access is an increasingly important – maybe the most demanded – service provided by public libraries. A recent survey by the Institute of Museum and Library Services found that 45% of library customers connect to the Internet any time they visit.… More

Mobile OS buzz for some, deafening silence for others

3 March 2013 by Steve Blum
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Firefox hasn’t quite landed yet.

Firefox has sharpened the debate over prospects for HTML5. The open source, connectivity-centric mobile operating system developed by the Mozilla Foundation gained a lot of attention at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Sceptical attention, mostly.

When the OS landscape is so thoroughly dominated by two superpowers – Apple and Google – it’s risky to bet on a challenger. Several mobile carriers expressed support, but manufacturers lagged behind. Geeksphone, a small Spanish company, had demo units to show at Barcelona, but missed its February ship date for SDKs.… More

Three elephants still standing


Samsung had their attention at CES 2013.

Samsung left Las Vegas with a firm grip on the industry’s leadership crown. Its CES presence overshadowed other traditional consumer electronics companies, cementing its position as a dominant global technology player.

Paying Bill Clinton to guest star at its keynote address was just icing on the cake. Arguably, the flexible touch screen that Stephen Woo, Samsung’s president of electronic device solutions, also demonstrated on stage drew more attention than the ex-president.… More

Game on for voluntary spectrum auction

13 January 2013 by Steve Blum
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It's all about doing business now.

“The unstated reason for this auction is the money. It was estimated we could raise $24 billion,” said Congressman Lee Terry, a Republican from Nebraska. “We wanted the FCC to design the rules to get us the $24 billion”

The debate now is over what those rules should be. The FCC intends to carry out a three step process next year to shift frequencies in the 600 MHz range from television broadcasting to mobile broadband uses.… More

The easy job was inventing wearable computing

It takes mojo to make the glasses and cuffs work, baby.

Expect entrepreneurs to bring the best not-ready-for-prime-time wearable computing concepts to CES.

Samsung's flexible touch screen and Google's Glass project could be ready for market as early as CES 2014. The prototypes that'll be floated next week will show us if they've narrowed the gap between the clunky toys that are available today and the sleek artwork that designers have been teasing us with for years.… More

Samsung ready to be crowned King of the Elephants

The “four elephants” of the mobile electronics industry – if not the entire tech world – are Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung, as Tae Hea Nahm, founding general partner of Storm Ventures put it at a recent Wireless Communications Alliance event. They’re prepared to do “whatever it takes to win.”

Samsung is positioned to take honors as lead bull at CES next week, if only by default. Apple and Microsoft won’t be there. Google is relying on partners like LG and, maybe, Intel to build buzz.… More