Did Google let the Fiber out of the bag?
A less-than-informative announcement has the tech press guessing that Google Fiber may be headed for Texas. Now a screenshot suggests a Google blogger jumped the gun and spilled the beans. And a TV report from Austin says, yes, it's a done deal.
- Ed was a member of the CNET crew that won a National Magazine Award from the American Society of Magazine Editors for general excellence online. He's also edited pieces that've nabbed prizes from the Society of Professional Journalists and others.
Google's zippy Fiber Internet service may have gotten ahead of even itself.
With a mysterious press conference on tap for next week from Chez Page and Brin -- along with the city of Austin, Texas -- word has been flying that Austin is next in line for Google Fiber, which offers Net access that's 100 times faster than what other services provide.
The only thing the press invite for the event says is: "the City of Austin and Google will make a very important announcement that will have a positive impact on Austinites and the future of the city."
And Google representatives and Austin officials have been tight-lipped.
But Engadget reports that a tipster -- who for whatever reason seemed to be cruising the Google Fiber Web site in the wee hours of the morning -- spied a blank story template in the news section of the Cities page. Blank, that is, but for the headline "Google Fiber's Next Stop: Austin, Texas." There was supposedly a byline too: "Posted by SoAndSo, SoAndSo Team."
Some lite Photoshop fun on a lonely geek's dateless Friday night? A Google red herring to throw the already chattering media farther off the scent? Or an indication that "SoAndSo" probably shouldn't be testing publishing capabilities while groggy in the wee hours?
Austin ABC affiliate KVUE TV is reporting that yes, Fiber in Austin is a done deal. And CNET's Maggie Reardon noted yesterday that Fiber coming to Austin makes sense. After all, when Google was first evaluating places to deploy Fiber, Austin -- the tech-sexy home of South by Southwest -- was supposedly high on the list.
But it looks like all us speed-obsessed Fiber fanatics may have to learn some patience and wait till Tuesday to find out for sure. (And Austinites will have to learn patience too -- even if the town gets Fiber, the service, as ATD points out, won't arrive overnight.)
Here's the purported screenshot published by Engadget:
And here's the TV report from the Austin ABC affiliate: