Google Fiber's (Nasdaq: GOOG) rule in its terms of service that prohibits customers from attaching servers to its networks has drawn the ire of consumer group Free Press which says the Internet giant needs to live up to its promise that it is not like traditional cable and telco broadband providers.
"I urge Google to follow through on its claim to provide a "different kind of Internet" by becoming a different kind of ISP," the group wrote in a letter to Milo Medin, VP of access services at Google. "It should start by revising its terms of service to explicitly allow individual users to host servers on Google Fiber networks for personal use."
This ban means that residential users won't be able to attach their own servers for e-mail or run popular online video games such as Minecraft. It also prohibits customers from using peer-to-peer software since it enables a computer to act as both a client and a server.
News of the server ban first appeared in a Wired article that came out earlier this week citing a complaint filed with the FCC by potential Google Fiber customer Douglas McClendon.
Google Fiber lawyer Darah Smith Franklin wrote in response to McClendon's complaint that "Google Fiber's server policy is consistent with policies of many major providers in the industry" including AT&T (NYSE: T).
For more:
- see the Free Press post
Related articles:
Google closes deal to acquire iProvo
Does Google Fiber's iProvo move spell doom for open access?
CenturyLink protests Google Fiber's move into Provo
Google's iProvo purchase draws fire from Utah-based XMission
Google Fiber goes to Provo on the cheap