In March 2011, Google announced that Kansas City, Kansas would be the lucky city to receive a 1 Gpbs fiber based Internet network. In May, Google revealed that service would be expanded to the neighboring city of Kansas City, Missouri. The service was supposed to be operational by early 2012. Now it appears that citizens of both cities will have to wait much longer to get those faster Internet pipes.
The Kansas City Star web site reports that part of the reason might be due to a dispute over where and how to hang Google's Internet fiber optic wires on local utility poles. There's also the issue of what the costs will be for the installation of those wires on the poles.
However, a spokesperson for the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities said, "Within the next week or two we ought to be able to hammer out the final details. We’re moving forward."
Google has not commented publicly on any delays in its Kansas City Internet service project. Originally the company said that customers would be able to start signing up to use the service by the end of 2011 with the actual launch of the 1 Gbps service starting in the first quarter of 2012. However, there have been no such announcements for any sign ups to use the service and Google has yet to start installing any fiber optic wire. The company has also not yet revealed how much it intends to charge Kansas City customers to use the service.
13 Comments - Add comment