We think of "broadband" as being high speed but, of course, everything is relative. A standard DSL connection to the home might be as slow as 256 kilobits per second although the more common speed is 768 kilobits. (A kilobit is usually written simply with the letter "k" such as 768k.) Cable modems typically run at faster speeds, such as 2 megabits per second up to 5 megabits. FIOS fiber optic cable connections default to 10 megabits per second but, for more money, you can obtain even higher speeds.
Now a new Ohio start-up company, called Gigabit Squared, has raised $200 million to fund a gigabit-per-second broadband project.
A gigabit is 1,000 megabits. The new company promises to deliver Internet connections 100 times faster than the typical fiber optic connection and 500 times to more than 1,000 times faster than the typical DSL or cable modem connection. All of this is promised to be made available at prices that are roughly the same as today's (slower) Internet connections.
Gigabit Squared will work with the University Community Next Generation Innovation Project (Gig.U), a coalition of 30 universities focused on improved broadband, to select six communities in which to build the ultra-fast broadband networks. The project will focus on creating a self-funding service that doesn't depend on government funding or subsidies.
I have one question: Where are these six communities? I am thinking of moving!
You can read more about Gigabit Squared and the new gigabit-per-second broadband project in an article by Grant Gross of the IDG News Service at http://goo.gl/XChQN.
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