Google is one of the fastest yet affordable broadband service providers in the U.S. ever since its launch. The West has too many great Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to choose from but we Indians don’t have very good ISP options, sadly. So we were all very excited when Google Fiber was launched with 1 Gbps, 100 Mbps, and free 5 Mbps plans in Kansas city in 2011.
Till now, Google Fiber was available only in the Kansas city, and is being tested for rollout in other U.S. cities like Austin, Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Provo, Raleigh-Durham, and Salk Lake City, along with 34 other cities in the United States.
On his recent visit to the U.S., Telangana’s IT minister KT Rama Rao had requested Google to send a team to India for examining the feasibility of their high-speed fiber broadband services in Telangana.
“A request has been made by the state IT and panchayat raj minister K T Rama Rao during his ongoing two-week tour in the US. Google has agreed to the request and is expected to send in its team to the state pretty soon,” Telangana’s government officials reported.
The state govt. has also signed a treaty with Google for setting up its largest facility outside the U.S. The upcoming facility will be set up at Gachibowli in Hyderabad. This facility will be spread over 7.2 acres and will accommodate 14,000 employees once it becomes fully operational in 2019.
To make its Fiber broadband services roll-out easier, the state government also briefed Google about is upcoming Telangana Drinking Water Project and how the search giant could use its duct lines for rolling out high-speed broadband services in the state. This Rs. 25,000 crore water grid project aims to supply potable water at every doorstep in Telangana and will be finished within 4 years from now.
It is not the first time that such news is coming out. Last year in December, IT Ministry had talks with Google Fiber team to bring their fiber based broadband services in India. An official from the IT Ministry had said back then, “We are keen to partner a company like Google in furthering the Digital India plan. Modalities have to be worked out,”.
The Broadband Scenario In India
As per the latest guidelines issued by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), any internet connection with speed greater than or equal to 512 Kbps can be termed as a broadband connection.
As a result, Indians to have to shell out thousands of bucks just for getting a decent broadband connection. Many private broadband service providers are therefore providing high-speed dual-speed broadband plans for putting the data usage of the consumers in check.
Google Fiber, if rolled-out across the country will not only help in the Digital India campaign but will also improve the country’s average internet speed greatly. It is however, not easy for Google Fiber to start its operations in India soon. Any ISP which wishes to start its services in India must do so only after acquiring an appropriate licence from the government after paying up thousands of crores of rupees as licence fee.
Such licenses can be acquired only via Govt. auctions which don’t occur on very frequently. If Google wants to launch its Google Fiber services in India at the earliest, then its only option would be to tie-up with some existing ISP in India. BSNL and Reliance Jio could be some very good partners for Google to tie-up with.
Why Do We Love Google Fiber?
Google Fiber can disrupt the broadband market in India by offering very high-speed broadband plans at a very reasonable price.
Its gigabit plans also offer more than 150 channels (including HD) so you can enjoy crystal clear channels on your TV. Take a look at the current plans offered by Google Fiber and see why we are so excited about its India launch.
| Paramaters | Gigabit + TV | Gigabit Internet | Basic Internet |
| Cost/month | $130 (Rs. 8,288) | $70 (Rs. 4,463) | No charges except $300 (19,126) construction fee. |
| Speed | 1 Gbps Download & Upload | 1 Gbps Download & Upload | 5 Mbps Download & 1 Mbps Upload |
| TV Channels | 150+ channels (HD included) | — | — |
| Cloud Storage | 1 TB shared across Gmail, Drive, and Google+ Photos. | 1 TB shared across Gmail, Drive, and Google+ Photos. | — |
It is worth noting that the free 5Mbps looks very lucrative, keeping in mind the current broadband plans offered by various operators in India. The 5 Mbps plan can be used for free without any data cap on any given address for a period of up to 7 years. Post the free usage period, the users can subscribe to any gigabit plan of their liking.
Once launched, the Google Fiber will be among one of the best Value-For-Money internet plans available in the country. We are also expecting Reliance Jio to launch similar high-speed broadband plans too.