In thinking about the possible uses of an ultra-high speed Internet connection to the home, it seems like, with an external speed of 1 gigabit, the major slowdown will come inside the home, when transferring data within an existing home network.

I am currently connect to the Internet through a Netgear DG834G Wireless Modem Router. For networking, I use the wireless features with my MacBook Pro laptop and a Lexmark All-In-One Printer, which also has wireless capability.

My older Windows PCs are networked using Netgear XE103 Powerline Network Adapters, connected to hub switches. I have been using this system for some time, and have been happy with my recently tested 1230 kbps Internet connection speed, and 85 mbps home network transfer speed.

With Google Fiber providing a possible 1 gigabit download and upload speed, however, 85mbps will probably seem pretty slow. I don't know what the upper speed limit for powerline networking is, but the fastest speed I could find doing a quick search of the internet was 200 mbps, and the price for that adapter seemed pretty steep.

With a 1gigabit Internet connection speed, it will be faster to send data to a computer outside the home network, and then download the data to a computer on the home network.

As more information is made available about the Google Fiber service, I anticipate that I will be looking at ways to improve my home network performance.

One immediate use for an ultra-fast 1gigabit connection speed that comes to mind is its potential to serve as an alternative means of receiving entertainment programming. I am a customer of satellite TV, and I cannot currently receive high definition programming, because of all of the trees surrounding my residence.

I currently watch a variety of TV programs on-line, and, with such a fast connection, I can imagine watching HD movies and other programs via the internet rather than by satellite. Up to now, I had not seen a need for a large computer monitor, but with the possibilities that Google Fiber could bring, I can definitely envision a future need for a considerably upgraded monitor, or hybrid that could take advantage of the new entertainment options such a fast connection could bring. Of course, this is still thinking small.