Google Dark Fiber Plans Long-Term Trends, Hires Fiber Optic Lines from Other Networks

Google could expand its fiber offerings around the United States, after announcing that it will bring online various "dark fiber" networks that have remained dormant for too long. Although it will be limited to certain areas of certain cities, Google will soon make it much easier for people to access ultra-fast internet connections ready fiber.

The dark fibers are not quite similar to those of the dark blanket, so don't imagine an underground network of millions of spaghetti fiber optic cables, all wrapped together like a king tech rat. The dark fiber is more like the child forgotten by the high-speed era. It is a cable that was laid by companies in the hope that someone will pay them to use it in the future.

How much there is an unused fiber optic cable depends a lot on the state and city authorities, because some have seen the fibers much more important for the future of their premises than others. San Francisco is a city with a lot of unused cables, so all Google has to do is install connections from local hubs to individual buildings and it's off and running.

Other cities that expect to benefit from the use of existing, unused infrastructure include Salt Lake City, San Atonio, Nashville, Huntsville and Charlotte, among others.

Unfortunately, to save costs, Google only plans to wire buildings where multiple companies or families can purchase fiber connections. But if all goes well, it won't be long before the same package is offered to individual homes.

One of the most interesting aspects of this ad, as the motherboard pointed out, is that Google is using someone else's network. Existing US telecommunications companies do not do this often because they would prefer to control the entire connection, but Google is happy to break with tradition to increase the availability of fiber it seems.

This practice is much more common in other countries. In the United Kingdom, British Telecom (BT) and TalkTalk regularly lease the use of their lines to competing ISPs, and indeed, until recently, BT was the sole line operator throughout the country.

It will be interesting to see if Google sets a precedent and we will see more companies that will fall on this path in the future.