Basically, Google is so flush with its cash, and so frustrated by slow American ISPs, that it has decided to step in and improve connection speeds itself or goad someone else to — all the better to increase traffic to Google, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Docs, Picasa, YouTube, and so on.

The company’s thinking appears to be, “if you want something done right, do it yourself,” rather than depending on the oligopoly of entrenched internet service providers currently serving (but mostly under-serving) American consumers relative to those in other developed countries. But it might also be sandbagging in an attempt to do as little as possible to scare others into doing something.

Source: Al Franken Jokes, But Google Fiber Is No Laughing Matter | Epicenter | Wired.com

Actually, it’s not that expensive. Scaring others works, too.