Yet More Executives Leave Google Fiber Google continues to shuffle around executives after announcing last fall that it was laying off its CEO, pausing some of its fiber expansions, and pondering a potential shift from fiber to wireless. According to Bloomberg, Milo Medin, a vice president at Access (already downgraded from CEO), and Dennis Kish, a wireless infrastructure veteran and president of Google Fiber, are leaving the division -- but staying at Alphabet/Google. Bloomberg cites anonymous inside sources that say the moves are part of more than 600 employees that have been moved away from Google Fiber.

It's just the latest in a series of moves that have customers and analysts alike increasingly questioning Google's dedication to disrupting the telecom sector. Google Fiber continues to pretend that everything is fine -- despite obvious, repeated indications that this clearly isn't the case. Even in markets like Kansas City that Google Fiber last fall claimed wouldn't be impacted by the cuts and pivot, many users that have waited for years for installation have said their installs have been cancelled. Google Fiber has simply refused to provide a real explanation why. While Google Fiber service has been well received by users (see our user reviews), the company has consistently butted heads with entrenched incumbents, which have worked tirelessly to stall the project's process via utility pole bureaucracy and other state by state, city by city lobbying efforts. Google Fiber has also seen an extremely slow uptake in TV subscribers. A report last month indicated that Google Fiber has just 84,000 subscribers (though broadband subscribers are estimated to be closer to 1 million). All told it's possible that Google Fiber remains dedicated to disrupting the broadband market, but may just not know what its pivot looks like yet. The company is conducting a wide variety of experiments and trials of numerous wireless broadband technologies including millimeter wave. My guess is that the end result is a total shift from fiber to wireless with a trimming of the company's television service; users instead shoved toward YouTube's new live streaming TV service, YouTube TV. But until Google Fiber has finished these trials and is willing to admit this, the best we'll apparently get is "nothing to see here."







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Most recommended from 48 comments



davidc502

join:2002-03-06

Mount Juliet, TN 18 recommendations davidc502 Member The big 3 did a great job of stalling Google Fiber Let's call it what it is... a big victory for the big 3 or 4 ISP's out there. They did a great job of stalling the deployments, and used the time to bump up or at least begin offering 1Gig, which has completely taken all the wind out of Google Fiber's sails.



At this point, Google is trying to regroup and re-asses.



Congratulations to the big ISP's for keeping a strangle hold on the USA. Not that Google would have been "that" disruptive, but they were making big waves that were hard to ignore.



So, wait 5 years, and the US will again begin falling behind stone-aged countries like Estonia when it comes to speed... Oh well, enjoy it whilst it lasts.

maartena

Elmo

Premium Member

join:2002-05-10

Orange, CA 14 recommendations maartena Premium Member Long Haul ISP's laying fiber need to realize that you are going in for the long haul. Laying fiber isn't a short/quick way to profit, it costs lots of money and your return on investment could be many years away. But in high up corporate settings like Google its all about the short term profit. It's the exact same reason why AT&T pushed copper U-Verse first before deciding on fiber, and it the exact same reason why Verizon is coming short on their New York promises, and left Baltimore and Boston on aging DSL till only recently.



Fiber IS the future, the only future for data communications for probably the next 100 years....(or till something better comes along), but you do need to invest NOW to make it happen.



Another challenge for Google is that in many states (Sorry GOP lovers, in particular GOP ruled states) laws have been enacted that prevents or curbs third-party provider access or makes it such a bureaucratic nightmare its cheaper to give up on it.