Google Inc to test new technology for high-speed internet

Google Inc is looking to test new technology that might provide the foundation for a wireless version of its high-speed "Fiber" internet service, telecommunication experts who scrutinised the company's regulatory filings said, Reuters reported.

In a public application with the US Federal Communications Commission that had gone largely unnoticed Monday, Google sought permission from the agency to conduct tests in California across different wireless spectrums, including a rarely-used millimetre frequency capable of transmitting large amounts of data.

Google's plans were not exactly clear from the filing, but it did signal the internet giant's broader ambition of controlling internet connectivity. The technology it sought to test could form the basis of a wireless connection that was capable of being broadcast to homes, obviating the need for an actual ground cable or fibre connection, according to experts.

The technology could open an alternative to the one offered by Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and other entrenched cable and broadband providers, according to experts.

They added a quicker and cheaper way to deliver high-speed internet service, could pose a threat to the cable-telecoms oligopoly.

Reuters quoted Stephen Crowley, a wireless engineer and consultant who monitored FCC filings, from a radio standpoint, it was the closest thing to fibre there, noting that millimetre frequencies could transmit data over short distances at speeds of several gigabits per second.

Meanwhile, with its foray into a $60-million undersea fibre optic cable construction project linking Florida to Brazil, the search giant would be able to gain greater control of all aspects of internet access while expanding its efforts to close the digital divide, Computer World reported.

Google last week joined hands with Brazilian company Algar Telecom and African operator Angola Cables in the undersea venture, which would stretch across 6,560 miles and link the Brazilian cities of Santos and Fortaleza with Boca Raton, Florida. The agreement which was first announced on 10 October was reported in Portuguese-language Brazilian financial newspaper Valor.

According to Google Latin American head Cristian Ramos, the fibre optic pipe will add needed internet capacity. "As more people get access to the Internet, more capacity to the infrastructure that keeps the Internet running is needed, so that everyone can have a fast, safe and useful online experience," Ramos said.

Work on the Brazilian cable is expected to get underway soon and complete in late 2016.

The construction contract for the project had been won by TE Connectivity SubCom.