Jacob Aron, technology reporter
They sure love speed in Kansas City (Image: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA/Rex Features)
Google has launched its own internet service provider with connections so fast you could download an HD movie in the time it takes to read this sentence, it claims. Google Fiber will offer download speeds of 1 gigabit per second, around 100 times faster than the average US internet connection.
The service will launch in Kansas City, which saw off more than 1100 other communities that had applied to be the first with gigabit internet when Google first announced its plans in 2010. Data will be delivered via Google's own fibre-optic network, which the company is laying down as residents in areas of Kansas City dubbed "fiberhoods" sign up.
Google is offering three flavours of fibre. The top package, which also includes a 2-terabyte TV box capable of recording up to eight programmes simultaneously and the new Nexus 7 tablet as a remote, costs $120 per month, though it lacks popular channels such as HBO, AMC and ESPN. Gigabit internet alone is $70 per month, and there is also a 5-megabit service with no monthly fee - you just have to pay a one-off $300 to get fibre laid to your home.
The fibre connection is actually so fast that users will need a wired home network to take full advantage of it, as even the best Wi-Fi networks top out at around 300 megabits, a third of the speed Google is offering.
Google Fiber isn't the world's first gigabit internet project. That prize goes to South Korea, where five cities are wired up to the nation's pilot gigabit project - and the government wants every household to enjoy such ultrafast speeds by the end of the year.
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