Internet access in Africa is charged per speed and this puts money in the pocket of lots of ISP companies in South Africa to be specific. The highest speed per Mega bytes per seconds is from 3 – 100Mbps , but this is not fast and really expensive. The need for a cheaper alternative lead to great idea tickers that is already on its way to South Africa, one that would change the dynamics of using the internet all together. At up to 1,000 Mbps, Google Fiber is 100 times faster than today’s basic broadband, allowing you to get what you want instantaneously. You no longer have to wait on things buffering; everything will be ready to go when you are. So whether you are video chatting, uploading family videos, or playing your favorite online games, all you need to do is click and you’re there.
Google’s new tech idea of the search giant’s high-speed internet network, Fiber, has spawned lots of competition. Great for cities across the world —and for Google.
So, what is Google Fibre ?
Google Fiber is an Internet and television service provided by Google itself, and plans range from 5Mbps all the way to a blistering fast 1Gbps (or 1,000Mbps). The service also provides television channels for an extra monthly charge, but to put 1Gbps speeds into perspective, you could theoretically download a full 1080p movie in about a minute. Of course, you most likely won’t get the full 1Gbps speed, since the connection loses a bit of quality from traveling through different loops before reaching your house. So, let’s just say a 1080p movie can download in about five minutes – still, that’s incredibly impressive.
Where is Google Fiber available?
Currently, Kansas City (both Missouri and Kansas) and their surrounding suburbs are the only areas in the U.S. with Google Fiber up and running. However, Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah are officially on the list to get Fiber in the future. As for other cities, we don’t know what Google has planned for expanding their Fiber network, but we should expect more cities to receive it in the future.
However, other ISPs are attempting to put a dent into Google Fiber by releasing their own gigabit network in competing cities, with AT&T announcing gigabit availability in Austin, Texas just days after Google unveiled its plans. Seattle is another city planning to implement gigabit Internet, thanks to an agreement with Seattle-based startup Gigabit Squared.
If you’re wondering why Google Fiber isn’t available everywhere yet, or gigabit Internet in general for that matter, it mostly has to do with your areas Internet network infrastructure. Only a handful of cities in the U.S. and in some places in the world , africa still underconstruction are wired up for fiber optics, which means there’s only so many places that you can get Google Fiber or other gigabit Internet service. For instance, Verizon’s FiOS fiber optic Internet service is only available in a few states, and in those few states only a few cities are equipped with the necessary infrastructure to get gigabit Internet speeds. In order for ISPs to offer gigabit Internet to residents in a city, the infrastructure has to be upgraded, this would speed the process of getting GF here quicker and that in itself can be a challenge, but thanks to government roadblocks and encouraging private property owners to get in on the upgrade.
