Submission + - Neighbors build their own lightning-fast fiber-optic network (mercurynews.com)
k6mfw writes: Tech-rich but internet-poor, residents of the Silicon Valley neighborhood were fed up with sluggish broadband speeds of less than 25 Megabits-per-second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload — the federal definition of a home unserved by adequate internet.
Comcast gave him a $17,000 estimate to connect his home to the faster internet service at a neighbor’s home. “You got to be kidding me – I can see it on the pole from my driveway,” Vanderlip said.
That was in 2017. Now, Vanderlip is president of the Los Altos Hills Community Fiber Association, which provides super-fast speeds — up to 10 Gigabits-per-second upload and download — to its over 40 association members, letting them transfer huge files and load webpages in the click of a computer mouse, Vanderlip said. That’s 125 times faster than the average download speed in Santa Clara County.
Comcast gave him a $17,000 estimate to connect his home to the faster internet service at a neighbor’s home. “You got to be kidding me – I can see it on the pole from my driveway,” Vanderlip said.
That was in 2017. Now, Vanderlip is president of the Los Altos Hills Community Fiber Association, which provides super-fast speeds — up to 10 Gigabits-per-second upload and download — to its over 40 association members, letting them transfer huge files and load webpages in the click of a computer mouse, Vanderlip said. That’s 125 times faster than the average download speed in Santa Clara County.
