Google just announced that they will be test-launching their own fibre-optic network in selected communities in the United States. But Google plans to outshine all other current networks, by providing 1 Gbps connections at "competitive prices". Despite Google's plans to act as an Internet Service Provider (ISP), they insist that this will be an ‘open access' network, allowing other operators to function on the same network, and giving buyers multiple ISPs to choose from.

For this test run, Google plans to deliver 1 Gbps connections to between 50,000 and 500,000 homes. The company's hoping that this high-speed access will open up the app market by getting developers to create "new bandwidth-intensive "killer apps" and services, or other uses we can't yet imagine."

This test-launch will add to Google's existing internet-access experiments, like its free WiFi access to the residents of Mountain View, Google's hometown, and its previous Christmas gift to air travellers: free WiFi at select airports.

Anyone in the US can sign up their neighbourhood and offer a reason as to why their community needs Google's 1 Gbps line. Google will announce the selected communities later this year.

Stay tuned for our opinion of what this could mean for advertising around the world.