Google has announced that it is planning to build and test ultra high-speed 1Gbps fibre optic broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. The fact that somebody is building a 1Gbps FTTH network outside the UK, which will offer services at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people, probably wouldn't even be news if it wasn't Google doing it.

Google is no longer just an Internet search engine and has expanded into multiple different fields from online advertising to mobile phones and has most recently made even bigger moves into the Telecoms market. Suffice to say, when Google starts building its own ISP you have to stand up and take notice.



Google claims that its experiment is aimed at finding new ways to help make Internet access better and faster for everyone. Several "new" fibre network building methods will be tried and the network itself will be operated as an "open access" platform. This means that Google will effectively become a supplier for products that ISPs offer.

We would naturally welcome anything that could result in a faster and more cost effective solution for deploying next generation broadband networks. However we surely cannot be the only ones with concerns about the largest Internet content and services creation company getting into the access game. That would give Google considerable power, not least over people’s private personal data.

In reality Google will not be dominating the Internet access world just yet, at least not outside of the USA, but its move into the market does represent an interesting problem for the net neutrality debate.