When I lived with my next set of roommates, we had WiFi put in and split the bill three ways. It cost us each about $20 a month. Worth it. Our apartment also had a business center where I could go 24 hours a day and get online if I needed a quiet place to blog. After a year and a half we all went our separate ways so I moved once again.
At my new place I am renting a single room in an apartment. The leasing agent told me that they have google fiber. Each room is equipped with its own router. She also said that they have a plan where you can get free access to the internet. Sounded too good to be true. Especially since everything else about my new apartment was dilapidated.
I contacted the google fiber representative. The options were that I could come to their office in downtown Austin or they could send me a router in the mail. I was pitched hard on the merits of Google high-speed ultra net or whatever they called it. I inquired about the free internet package. I was told that yes, they did have a free package but it was only a glacial 5 mps. I opted for the free package of course and assured her that if I found it too slow I would upgrade.
The Google fiber office was neat. Right when you walk in they have you sit down in front of a demonstration of to connection speeds. One is the free connection where everything is buffering and waiting to load. The other is the High-speed uber fast connection where they are simultaneously playing fortnight, mining bit coins, watching HD video, and sequencing the human genome without any lag. I was again told how smart I would be if I selected the fast internet and how stupid I would be if I selected the slow free internet. The sales person had the live demo to verify their claim right in front of us. Who could refuse?
I decided to be dumb. I again requested the free internet. Finally I was given the equipment and instructions on how to set it up. Just plug it into the wall and log into your account.
When I returned to my room I set it up and created my WiFi network. There were lots of clever WiFi network names in my building already such as porqueFi and FBI Surveillance Van. I decided to name mine after my swimming hobby. It is plenty fast enough for one person and works great for me since I am either surfing the web on my laptop or on watching youtube on my phone. For Free.
