Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier today Google announced formally that they’d begin construction on a brand new Fiber Internet Network in Austin, Texas – and now AT&T is announcing the same thing. As AT&T announced today, they intend to build their own 1 Gigabit Fiber Network in Austin right alongside Google. Perhaps most important in this document is the direct mention of Google, with AT&T strongly suggesting that they get the same terms and conditions that are being granted to Google by the government.

As far as geographic scope of offerings, permitting, rights of way, investment incentives, and state licenses go, AT&T is seeking the same fair deals Google is getting. AT&T has also been careful to note to investors that this move will not materially alter their anticipated 2013 capital expenditures.

“Most encouraging is the recognition by government officials that policies which eliminate unnecessary regulation, lower costs and speed infrastructure deployment, can be a meaningful catalyst to additional investment in advanced networks which drives employment and economic growth.” – Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO

AT&T has made clear that they’ll be making this set of moves for the betterment of the communities through which they’ll expand. They’ve been clear that they’d like to applaud local communities and municipalities that have been “acknowledging the promise and power of economic development associated with telecommunications investment.” You all want fast internet, right? Let’s do it!

Have a peek at the timeline below showing each of the mentions of the highest-speed internet roll-out in the history of the United States. Fiber Internet is bringing us all to a whole new place on the web, and it would appear that not just Google is aiming to grab a piece of this pie. Stay tuned to see if Google and AT&T end up clashing!

AT&T 1gbps Fiber Internet announced for Austin, Texas: the war is on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google Fiber is already settling down in Kansas City, and it’s been slowly making its way to more neighborhoods in the area over the past few months. However, speculators have been wondering where the search giant will take their internet service next. According to recent reports, home of the SXSW festival Austin, Texas may be getting a deal.

According to VentureBeat, Google and the City of Austin have sent out special invites for a press conference next week for “a very important announcement.” Of course, at this point, we know that when Google is partnering up with a city government body, it’s assumed that one of the things to possibly be in the works is Google Fiber.

Of course, that’s not always the case, but it seems the evidence heavily favors Austin as a hot spot for Google Fiber internet, since it’s a tech-based city with many technology-based companies located in the city, as well as a number of startups. And of course, the city is home to the annual SXSW festival that has become more and more of a technology-centric festival.

The invitation lists April 9 at 11 AM as the announcement date, and it’s expected that “more than 100 community leaders and elected officials to be in attendance to celebrate this announcement.” We’ll keep our ear to the ground throughout the weekend, and by Monday afternoon, we should be hearing official word about what Google is up to in the Lonestar State.

[via VentureBeat]

Google Fiber reportedly coming to Austin, Texas is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We all want faster downloads, and developments like graphene antennas promise a speedy future. There is an upper limit—the speed of light—but that should be fast enough, right? Well a new kind of hollow fiber optic cable promises to get us 99.7 percent of the way there. More »

You may know a little about Google Fiber, the insanely fast internet that arrived in Kansas City not too long ago, but the unfortunate news is that Google isn’t really planning on rolling its Fiber service out to a majority of the US. However, FCC Chairman Julius Genachoski is calling for gigabit internet in all 50 states by 2015.

Genachowski is calling it the “Gigabit City Challenge,” and he wants all 50 states to have at least one city with gigabit internet availability by the time 2015 rolls around. He’s relying upon ISPs and state governments to help make it all a reality. Of course, other areas in the US have already implemented the faster internet protocol, mostly thanks to private funding, but Genachowski wants ISPs to step up.

Overall, the FCC said that there are currently 42 communities in 14 states with access to fiber-based internet, so we’re already seeing some progress, but Genachowksi notes that as long as “we build it, innovation will come.” He also says that the US ultimately needs this in order to “drive economic growth” and compete globally.

Of course, this is only a goal of the FCC’s and not necessarily a mandate, so they’re really only encouraging ISPs and state governments to step up, rather than force them to introduce gigabit internet, so we’re going to have to see a lot of cooperation between certain parties if we want to see high-speed, fiber internet in all 50 states anytime soon.

Image via Flickr

FCC Chairman proposes gigabit internet in all 50 states by 2015 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple dominated the news cycle this week with the debut of the iPhone 5, as the internet was buzzing with details about the lighter, thinner and faster new iPhone. But not everyone was thrilled with the news. A journalist in China spent 10 days undercover working at a Foxconn factory, detailing the grueling conditions workers undergo to produce the new gadget. Apple wasn’t the only tech company in the news this week, though; Google got some time in the spotlight this week too, as the company’s new augmented-reality glasses were trotted down the runway at New York Fashion Week. Continuing the trend of high-tech fashion, British designer Dominic Wilcox unveiled a GPS shoe that guides you home from anywhere in the world.

This week, a team of Finnish researchers did what we would have thought was impossible, building an electricity-free computer that’s powered by water droplets. Israeli designer Nitsan Debbi cooked up a batch of working electronic products made of bread. A Boise-based tech company used 3D printing technology to produce a new working beak for an injured bald eagle. Artist Luzinterruptus fitted 10,000 books that had been discarded by public libraries with LED lights and covered the streets of Melbourne with them, and in an exciting development the much-anticipated Low Line underground park in NYC debuted a full-scale model of their incredible fiber-optic solar-concentrating technology in New York City’s lower east side. And in a surprising development, a researcher in Switzerland discovered a special strain of fungus that can make an ordinary violin sing like a Stradivarius.

Continue reading Inhabitat’s Week in Green: GPS shoes, shape-shifting bicycle and a wheelchair helicopter

Filed under: Transportation, Science

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: GPS shoes, shape-shifting bicycle and a wheelchair helicopter originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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