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Report: Google high-speed Internet might be coming to Boston
By adamg on Thu, 06/23/2016 - 9:28am
The Boston Business Journal reports a Google acquisition on the West Coast could mean good news for people who want yet another alternative to Comcast. Google snapped up Webpass, a San Francisco Internet provider that already has a beachhead in Boston for its gigabit-speed Internet service.
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Comments
This is very good rumor-news.
This is very good rumor-news.
"yet another alternative to Comcast" - that's a joke, right?
Why?
I'm posting this via my connection on a non-Comcast system right here on my porch in Boston. They are out there.
NetBlazr? I've been using
NetBlazr? I've been using them in Boston for years. There are alternatives. NetBlazr is real, its just as fast, and its (relatively) cheap. Never looked back.
well
Which is useless if you're not in the line of sight of their service or if you can't convince your building owner to put the equipment on the roof.
The building owner is legally
The building owner is legally required to allow you to put the antenna on your roof or deck. This was a landmark FCC legal decision.
I know they're continuing to add new repeaters, so it's worth following up a few times a year
edit: here's the link https://www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule
edit edit: nm, this only applies to balconies or exclusive use areas, not shared space e.g. roofs. Sorry.
also
Well, also, for some the $200 outlay for equipment might not be palatable. There are barriers that just don't exist with biting the bullet and getting Comcast.
and on that note
I just contacted Netblazr and set up a site survey for tomorrow.
nice!
nice!
Huh?
Comcast bundle starts at $100 a month. If the $200 initial outlay is a tripping point, you aren't going to be doing well with the $100 a month coming for many many months.
We're talking about internet
We're talking about internet only. Comcast starts at $39/month for the first year and then jumps to $67/month after that. The $100 bundle contains cable, which NetBlazr doesn't offer.
I'm starting to come off sounding like a netblazr salesman so I'm going to stop talking now.
Comcast does offer $35
Comcast does offer $35 internet only but it is useless if you want to do 2 things at once online.
for some people
I see plenty of people paying more in the aggregate for the weekly T passes, rather than getting the monthly, because they can't scratch together the lump sum. The ones living paycheck to paycheck and bill to bill generally do pay more than people better off because of things like this. Saving money is tough when you have to pay first for the privilege of doing so. Sometimes it's easier to just pay the $60 a month (or get the $39 one year contract price) when you don't have an extra $200 lying around.
That, and you're also assuming that the average consumer is rational.
sure
But for people in much of the city it's Comcast or nothing for high speed internet.
Now bring it to the suburbs.
Now bring it to the suburbs.
Boston
doesn't have it yet. Settle down.
"Settle down"
Can't. I'm way too excited.
Cool
XD
The suburbs already have a
The suburbs already have a competitor for Comcast. Boston doesn't.
Yes it does
Well, about 30% of the city, at any rate: RCN. I'm posting this over my RCN connection.
What this Google/Webpass thing means, however, is that people will have an option for far faster Internet speed than either of them (or Verizon) currently offers - well, if they expand it beyond newer apartment/condo buildings.
Please let this be true! I'm
Please let this be true! I'm surprised I'd never heard of Webpass, but it looks like they were basically just a transit provider for larger developments, as this was the info I got when I entered my address:
Sorry, Webpass is not available for your building. We currently require buildings to have at least 10 units and be built after 1995. Buildings built after 1995 are typically equipped with network cabling required to install our service. If you believe the cabling in your building was upgraded, please call 1-800-WEBPASS and we will be glad to schedule a site survey.
Verizon Bait and Switch
People need to read this article and contact their city councilors and state reps for Greater Boston.
Mahty has been had.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/more-exposed-verizons-fio_b_10564756.html
If WebPass will be dropping actual glass fiber this may be what people will want but it appears that this is Internet only and not what FIOS was / is offering.
Note it appears that Verizon's FIOS-To-Wireless bait-and-switch will not - repeat not - include FIOS TV.
Wow, Marty
Between the Olympics and this, does he just love signing contracts without reading or vetting them?
Wouldn't be fair!
The people writing him checks don't read the whole document (IE - the check) before signing it. He's just extending them the same courtesy.
From the Webpass webpage:
From the Webpass webpage:
"Webpass is a building specific ISP. You'll find our network in buildings built after 1995 and with 10 units or more."
Maybe this will change after the acquisition, but that rules out most of Boston.
Not seaport
Get with the program. Everything there is built large and in the last 10 years. And costs more than most people can affort
On the downside, Boston will
On the downside, Boston will have to change it's name to "Google, MA" for 1 year, right?
this is actually not a scam!?!
WHaaaaaat. I just got webpass junk mail in my mailbox with one of those sketchy letters by a sales rep. I definitely thought it was a scam or someone trying to sell me some crappy DSL. Apparently, I should actually check this out. Thank you universal hub.
Tethering
I just tether my phone's connection to my PC, which I hardly use because a phone is much easier.