The Ant and the Grasshopper is a fable about a lazy grasshopper who doesn’t prepare for the winter properly (he just sings) while the ants scavenge for food. When winter comes, the grasshopper, severely underprepared, begs the ants for some of their hard-earned rations. The ants scold the caelifera for his idleness and tell him to go dance instead. The ants, prepared for the changing weather conditions, survive the winter and prosper.
The grasshopper, however, dies, hungry and alone.
A similar story is happening in Kansas City. In March 2011, Google decided to build it’s optic fiber network in the city, called Google Fiber, which will eventually provide residents with Internet speeds 100 times faster than anywhere in the country. The Wall Street Journal reports that as part of their business deal, Google gets free office space and free power for their equipment from Kansas City.
The “ants” in this story benefit from each other. Kansas City gets one of the first gigabit networks in the country to appeal to consumers and businesses. Google gets to test out its service for little cost while challenging current ISPs to improve their Internet speeds.
However, not everyone is happy with the arrangement. The WSJ also reports that AT&T and Time Warner Cable want these free amenities as well, claiming they give Google a competitive advantage in Kansas City.
Ants, meet the grasshoppers.
The reason Kansas City wanted Google Fiber was because AT&T and TWC were not improving their services in the area. In 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act, granting ISPs many breaks and savings in exchange for rolling out broadband Internet service. In terms of Internet speed and pricing, U.S. speeds are still far behind other countries.
For the past 16 years, U.S. ISPs have been singing their troubles away. Building a faster, more efficient system takes time and money. Why upgrade your services when you (and your competitors) can charge high amounts for the existing networks?
This is why it’s hilarious to think that Kansas City should give them the same benefits as Google. Unlike AT&T and TWC, Google has shown that they care about the state of our Internet speeds. Unlike AT&T and TWC, Google has put in the money to create a blazing fast network. And unlike AT&T and TWC, Google will be gaining customers in Kansas City (and maybe even countrywide) because of its competitively-priced, high quality service. So why should they offer these resources to companies that have done nothing?
Though Kansas City may be giving Google a competitive edge, they’re doing it for a good reason. They want results that current ISPs are unable (and unwilling) to provide. It looks like it’ll be up to the best search-engine company to deliver.
For now, Kansas City and Google should tell AT&T and Time Warner Cable to go dance themselves.
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