Earlier this month, after several months of delays, Google finally started building its highly anticipated 1Gbps internet service for both Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas. While Google has yet to announce when the ultra-fast internet service will launch in those cities, it appears that the company might also offer those residents more than just net access.
The Kansas City Star reports that Google's subsidiary Google Fiber recently filed papers with both the states of Missouri and Kansas for permission to operate some kind of video service. Those actions strongly hint that Google is preparing to offer Kansas City citizens a TV service that would compete with local cable TV businesses as well as satellite TV providers.
Officially, a company spokesperson would only say, "We're still exploring what products will be available when we launch Google Fiber." Yet it would certainly seem like offering TV service in addition to fast internet access would be a natural fit for an all-fiber based infrastructure.
Another hint about Google's plans came in December when the company filed with the FCC to secure the rights to set up satellite dishes in a location in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Usually such set-ups are made by cable companies to pull down satellite signals from cable TV networks and provide those channels to customers.
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