Google announced the establishment of GFiber Labs, a research group dedicated to enhancing home internet speed. With a focus on both the speed to the home and the speed of internet within the home, GFiber Labs aims to push the boundaries of what is achievable in the internet industry.
One of the main questions that GFiber Labs intends to explore is whether the current industry standards are sufficient for future demands. Is a speed of 100Gbps truly fast enough to cater to the needs of tomorrow? Can the infrastructure support cloud applications, artificial intelligence, and potentially quantum computing services? Have advanced network services been developed to provide customers with the best possible content experience? Furthermore, investing in infrastructure and services that fuel the US economy and create economic opportunities for everyone is another avenue GFiber Labs plans to explore.
Google aims to leverage WiFi 7 and 8 technologies, such as photonics and millimeter wave wireless, to push home network speeds beyond 100 Gig and make high-speed internet accessible to more people in more locations. This is essential as future advancements such as 3D, augmented reality, virtual reality, and 16K video will require even faster speeds.
John Keib, Vice President of Technology, Operations, and Product at Google, emphasized the need for increased innovation in the industry. He mentioned that GFiber Labs will facilitate the introduction of emerging technologies to early adopters. Already, Google has rolled out 20 Gig internet to the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is actively testing it with consumers. These projects are just the beginning for GFiber Labs.
Although these improvements will not occur overnight, Google’s initiative joins that of numerous other companies striving to enhance home internet speed for people regardless of their location.
