Time Warner Cable puts $25M towards NYC fiber access
updated 03:11 pm EDT, Tue August 28, 2012
Fiber service roll-out in Brooklyn, Flatiron, Financial districts
Time Warner Cable is investing $25 million into expanding fiber-based broadband in New York City. Boasting speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second, the new network will be built in Brooklyn and parts of Manhattan and hopes to gain new business-based customers with high data throughput requirements, including those situated in the Flatiron and Financial districts.
At present, TWC operates a fiber network in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. A second Learning Lab will be constructed as part of a new employment center, giving the public a chance to try out the high-speed connection and accessing computers at no charge.
The push for fiber-based Internet access is part of an initiative from the Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, where agreements with telecommunications providers have been made to improve connectivity throughout the city via both fiber and Wi-Fi. These have already borne fruit, with Verizon updating its services and AT&T supplying Wi-Fi to parks and other areas in the city.
It could be argued that this is an early move by TWC against Google Fiber, the service launched in both Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. The gigabit Internet service from the search giant costs $70 per month without the TV package, but is aimed at the domestic market, whereas TWC is aimed towards businesses. TWC has yet to reveal how much its fiber service will cost. [via CNET]
