At a shareholders meeting on Wednesday, Google parent Alphabet revealed information about how it is exploring the use of wireless technology “rather than digging up your garden” to deliver ultra high-speed data service to customers.
According to several reports from the meeting, including those from The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt says it was a serious enough consideration for him to have a lengthy meeting with Alphabet CEO Larry Page and CFO Ruth Porat to discuss the technology this week.
Schmidt adds that Alphabet executives increasingly believe the technology can offer 1 Gbps, the WSJ reports, and the company is testing several wireless technologies.
“There appears to be wireless solutions that are point to point that are inexpensive now because of the improvements in semiconductors,” USA Today quotes him as saying. “These point to point solutions are now cheaper than digging up your garden and so forth.”
At an investor meeting in May, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam also discussed the high costs of rolling out ultra high-speed data services and suggested a 5G wireless network would offer an eventual alternative. More about that, including testing Verizon has done in its New Jersey facility around the fixed wireless space is available here.