Google Inc: Fanning the Fiber Flames

[Commentary] Portland (OR) is on Google's short list for its lightning-fast Fiber broadband network. Portland, along with eight other cities around the country, are taking regulatory steps to determine if signing a franchise agreement, a crucial step in the Google Fiber process, makes sense.

In Portland, we'll learn what the city council has decided after a vote on June 11. If early indications from current Fiber cities are any indication, there's good reason to be excited.

A door-to-door study conducted in Kansas City indicates Fiber customers are loving their $70 a month broadband access. Interestingly, most existing customers don't come close to actually using all that speed, but love it nonetheless. It's no wonder Portland, and the other cities on Google Fiber's short-list, are excited. But the upside of expanding Fiber's reach should go well beyond the nine cities, Google investor's should be just as giddy.

Some investors may question if Google's self-driving cars, Loon balloons, and other off-the-charts innovations will actually generate enough revenues to warrant the time and expense: but Google Fiber isn't one of them. Customers are screaming for an alternative to service-challenged cable and telecommunications companies, and are willing to pay for it. Keep the Fiber fires burning Google, both your new customers (here's one vote for Portland) and shareholders alike will thank you for it.