Google working on 10Gbits/sec fibre connections

Google is working on 10Gbit/sec broadband, ten times faster than its current fibre project in Kansas City.

CFO Patrick Pichette said the company was already working on faster technologies, now that it knew 1Gbit/sec broadband was possible.

“We want to push the boundaries,” he said, speaking at a Goldman Sachs technology conference. “For the next generation of internet, we said there’s 1Gbit/sec. After 1Gbit/sec, it’s 10Gbits/sec. We’re working on 10Gbits/sec because we know 1Gbit/sec works.”

“Why wouldn’t we make it available in three years?” he added. “That’s what we’re working on. There’s no need to wait.”

Google launched its Google Fiber service in Kansas City in July 2012, promising 100 times the speed of an average US internet connection.

Pichette didn’t say how many premises have taken up fibre with Google.

Superfast packages for Google Fiber start at $70 (£41) a month, going up to $120 a month for additional TV content – although Google has now waived the $300 connection fee for Kansas customers.

The company is slowing rolling the service out to more cities, with its superfast fibre soon to be available in Provo, Utah and Austin, Texas. Pichette wouldn’t comment on further roll outs, but said users should “stay tuned”.

While demand for faster download speeds is on the up with data-heavy services such as Netflix demanding more bandwidth, Pichette added that upload speeds were becoming more important too.

“Upload speeds matter in today’s world more than they used to,” he said. “Anyone with a GoPro – next time you use that and you try to upload that [footage], you really notice the asymmetry.”