Advanced Television

Google: No charge for speed

May 22, 2014

googleGoogle has declared it will not strike deals for its Google Fiber network to “prioritise” the performance of services like Netflix or YouTube.

In an official Google Fiber blog, director of network engineering Jeffrey Burgan said that Google is open to peering and co-location deals for its developing fibre network(s), but said it will not charge for doing so.

He said Google partners with the likes of YouTube, Netflix and Akamai to make a video’s journey “shorter and faster,” though stressed “this doesn’t involve any deals to prioritize their video ‘packets’ over others or otherwise discriminate among Internet traffic – we don’t do that.”

Burgan confirmed Google invites content providers to hook up their networks directly to Google Fiber’s network in peering deals that offer a more direct connection to content. He pointed out that Google had worked with services like Netflix so they can co-locate their equipment in Google Fiber facilities. “We don’t make money from peering or colocation; since people usually only stream one video at a time, video traffic doesn’t bog down or change the way we manage our network in any meaningful way – so why not help enable it?”

The declaration is the latest addition to the reignited Net Neutrality debate as the FCC consults on its Open Internet proposals. Google has criticized paid-for peering deals entered into by Netflix with Comcast and others. The FCC wants a regime where peering can be charged for but on terms it will oversee.

Google has rolled out Gigabit-speed broadband in Kansas City, Austin and Provo, and is currently assessing 34 more US cities for the next stage of its rollout.

Categories: Articles, Broadband, ISP, Policy, Regulation