Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Is Google's New Cable/Internet Service Making Time Warner Sweat?
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 26, 2012
Modified Nov 27, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 26, 2012
Modified Nov 27, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
[UPDATE BELOW] Google shed its credo of "Don't be evil" long ago, and we view the unyielding encroachment of their cheery, sterile presence into our lives with fear and trepidation. But if there's one giant we wouldn't mind watch die by Google's monolithic cutlass, it's Time Warner Cable. This month, Google launched their own fiber optic internet and cable TV service, Google Fiber, in Kansas City, Missouri. Though Time Warner's CFO derisively referred to Google as "the eighth competitor, doubting they'd ever challenge their primacy, it appears that TWC is indeed concerned: reps from the company are apparently paying house calls to make sure customers are happy with their service.
That anecdote comes from a report from two analysts from BTIG (paywall) who have surveyed Google Fiber on the ground. Yes, Google obnoxiously refers to neighborhoods with the service as "Fiberhoods," and yes, their promo videos make it seem like they're bringing arsenic-free drinking water to a parched nation instead of sick videos of transformer explosions and shoe-lickers at lightening fast speeds.
But by all accounts, it is fast: 1 gigabit per second, which is around 100 times faster than Time Warner's wares. An early user calls it "super fast," while another customer tells the Kansas City Star, “Videos are much clearer and much quicker to load. Everything is much faster. If I had a website that took forever to load, it doesn’t anymore.” That internet service will cost $70/month, while the cable TV service, which has a laudable amout of channels and add-ons, and gives customers a DVR with a ton of space and an Android tablet for a remote, costs $120/month.
Perhaps best of all: Google intends on making and keeping actual appointments with customers, as opposed to promising to be there in the year 2012 or just lying to your face and not showing up at all.
We asked Google what the chances were that New York would be chosen as a test market and have yet to receive a response. As for Time Warner: Sic Semper Tyrannis.
[UPDATE] Sad news for New Yorkers who are eager to watch Time Warner brought to its knees: Google Fiber isn't coming to our town anytime soon. "We're really busy building 180 fiberhoods in Kansas City," Google Fiber spokeswoman Jenna Wandres says. "We'd love to consider other communities in the future, but right now our focus is building out more areas in Kansas City." KANSAS CITY? In the meantime, do some soul-searching and calculate how much your cable habit is costing you. Is it more than a move to Missouri?
Tagged
clash of the titans
fiber optic
internet
monolith
Time Warner
time warner cable
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .