digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

See the original image at ecoworldly.com

Google TiSP Joke Becomes Reality

ecoworldly.com — Apparently, the folks in Bournesmouth, UK, didn't get the joke, as they're laying fiber optic cable through the sewer system. The intended result: blazing fast connections that don't require digging up anything...

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • tbhurst, on 05/12/2008, -4/+88At least now you can go to die in Bournesmouth AND have reliable high-speed broadband at the same time.
    • jemka, on 05/12/2008, -1/+53I hope the ninja turtles don't mind.
      • whitedragon33, on 05/12/2008, -0/+46Why would they? Donatello can tap into the lines & get free high-speed internet.
      • jmeeter, on 05/12/2008, -0/+11Exactly, I'm sure they would be grateful!
      • werries, on 05/12/2008, -0/+19what if splinter chews on the cables
      • yuutokun, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2If you touch me there I'll have to kill you.
      • maninalift, on 05/12/2008, -2/+2the writing in this article is awful "to allow passers-by to ascertain what lies within" ...yuk.
        • mciampa1214, on 05/12/2008, -0/+7That's what writing is like from sources other than myspace
    • Absentee, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2British joke FTW.
    • webspot, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1Hey! I live next to Bournemouth! :p
  • mmccarthy, on 05/12/2008, -3/+94I love this idea, simple but effective
    • JDRay, on 05/12/2008, -0/+102"This connection is fast as *****!"

      /obviousjoke
    • faizal5k, on 05/12/2008, -11/+2grammatical error...simple AND effective :)
      • GawtMilk, on 05/12/2008, -5/+3Haha? Usually simple things are the least effective, like "hey lets just run the cable on top of the sidewalk". This is simple, but also effective.
    • 47f0, on 05/12/2008, -0/+7A few years back, a company out of Oklahoma realized that a major expense in networking was right-of-way. So the company, Williams Brothers, which had been primarily petroleum and natural gas started pulling fiber through the miles of distribution piping they already had in the ground, forming WilTel.
  • sockpuppets, on 05/12/2008, -2/+431I've never been happier to have a ***** connection!
    • aajjcckk, on 05/12/2008, -2/+97I've just had a massive (data) dump!
      • Phlake, on 05/12/2008, -0/+65I was having some trouble with the comment system until I flushed my cache.
      • sarge96, on 05/12/2008, -13/+28Quit ***** up the internet, you guys.
    • Klowner, on 05/12/2008, -0/+44If the tubes get clogged you just pour a little Drain-o down there!
    • unionaire, on 05/12/2008, -1/+4"hey, at least I have a ***** cable, not a ***** connection!"
    • mediaphile, on 05/12/2008, -0/+8Yeah, but the maintenance stinks.
  • lucidguru, on 05/12/2008, -5/+157Wait, if the sewers April fools prank idea become reality... does that mean that colonizing Mars will come true too?
  • rhylan, on 05/12/2008, -4/+101Bournemouth mate. Bournemouth.
  • JoemcC00L, on 05/12/2008, -1/+126For those of us who have never heard of the joke,
    http://www.google.com/tisp/
    • sandeepg, on 05/12/2008, -0/+51Ah, how I laughed:

      For small to medium sized businesses Google include "24-hour on-site technical support in the event of backup problems, brownouts and data wipes."
      • UberNick, on 05/12/2008, -12/+1Ah, that makes. But they are located in Northern Califronia, where for some time it's been a way of life to "stick it where you poop"
    • lazersailer, on 05/12/2008, -0/+7I've always thought this would be a good idea... ever since google tricked me a year ago.
    • CaptainChad, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1If you still don't get it, it's "toilet internet service provider".
  • CrudeDarkness, on 05/12/2008, -1/+59I feel sorry for the maintenance crew.
  • Deodrus, on 05/12/2008, -1/+101This is an amazing idea, and should be implemented everywhere around the world. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

    Furthermore, running cables through the sewer system does not necessarily mean submerging them in the foul water. They could run near the edges of the ceiling, thus ensuring that you do not get ***** internet.
    • av4rice, on 05/12/2008, -0/+30If they're insulated with corrosion-resistant plastic, it shouldn't matter anyway
    • schnikies79, on 05/12/2008, -0/+18Not everywhere has sewer systems. Septic here, no sewer service.

      Oh well!
    • Whackly, on 05/12/2008, -2/+41As a field tech for an ISP I find this to be a horrible idea and I hope it never becomes a reality anywhere near me.
      • iofthestorm, on 05/12/2008, -0/+34Please, won't someone think of the field techs?
      • Flun, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2On the other hand, if it's outside of your contract conditions you could negotiate a salary increase =]
        • Whackly, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2Unfortunately I'm not Union and can't negotiate much. My job description basically says "Your job is to complete the above listed duties and anything else some jerk who has no idea what you do all day thinks he can pawn off on you." I'd have to quit. Either that or I'd be quickly fired as 5000 whiney customers call tech support every hour to complain their service is out and I flatly refuse to don my hazmat suit and splice fiber in an underground brick *****.
    • Joeyrev, on 05/12/2008, -1/+9I don't say this very often, but I enjoyed your pun.
  • Renegade.eit, on 05/12/2008, -2/+73Introducing the new FiOS: Feces Internet Operated Service
    • mark076h, on 05/12/2008, -0/+21i would take it over the ***** comcast service i have now
  • MasterThief117, on 05/12/2008, -3/+126Don't mind me, I am just here waiting for more poo puns.
  • aajjcckk, on 05/12/2008, -5/+32I know Bournemouth very well, and it's a VERY out of date notion that it's where old people go to die. It's now a bit like a cross between the French Riviera and the Costa del Sol, and is THE party / clubbing destination on the South Coast of England. Loads of clubs, loads of fit hotties, loads of fun. They now get quite a few top DJ's down there on the DJ circuit and, to top it all off, they're having only the world's second (I think?) artificial surf reef built there (in later this summer) to give great surf year round.

    Broadband through the ***** pipe is quite innovative, and clever.
    • HueytheFreeman, on 05/12/2008, -0/+15What's an unfit hottie?
    • CaptainEnglish, on 05/12/2008, -6/+3Surely, you mean Dorchester is the place to go?

      Shameless home-town name drop.
      • widgetmaker, on 05/12/2008, -2/+1Dorch is boring and over priced.
        If yo want somewhere to die you need the new forest (Brockenurst/Sway etc or Devon.
    • quii, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1"loads of fit hotties, loads of fun"
      Said like a true Bournemouth resident.
    • Anoobis, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1I agree, went to university there and its got a great night life, the beach in the summer is great. The surfing can be good too, a few overhead days makes it nice. they've been talking about the reef for many many years now though its a bit like duke nukem now. I'd happily move back there. Once it was filled with old people but it's changing these days.
  • Hockey13, on 05/12/2008, -11/+6This is the ***** idea I've ever heard. In a good way.
  • WilliamTM, on 05/13/2008, -9/+4When is this ***** coming to Staffordshire?! :(
  • burketo, on 05/12/2008, -3/+24i hope other people don't poo-poo this idea...
  • Suzpaz, on 05/12/2008, -1/+12Hasn't this been done in Paris for years now? I'm pretty sure I saw it on "Megacities - Paris" on NGC
    • PolarZoe, on 05/12/2008, -0/+6I believe I saw this too indeed.

      Also here in Amsterdam, they scheduled the laying of the fiber with the already planned sewer restoration plans, so no need to dig twice.
    • CaptainEnglish, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2Whilst all of this is in the more "happening" places in Europe, you have to let Bournemouth have it's light when it comes up on Digg for the first time ever. I almost fell off my chair that there was something newsworthy - and not just newsworthy, INTERNETS newsworthy, happening in Bournemouth...
    • ep53, on 05/12/2008, -0/+4Dont you mean OGC?
  • hempydave, on 05/12/2008, -11/+3So when they say they have a ***** connection.
    They ain't kidding.
  • condormcs, on 05/12/2008, -0/+25Google tried to warn us, but we wouldn't listen!
  • a1lazydog, on 05/12/2008, -1/+28and in other news, yahoo adopts the pigeon picking system
  • smashingmonkey, on 05/12/2008, -1/+8So it's back to scuzzy cables.
    • Lunarbunny, on 05/12/2008, -0/+8I find it weird you typed out "scuzzy" instead of "SCSI." The only other time I saw that was in a motherboard manual where they suggested its pronunciation.
      • Firehed, on 05/12/2008, -0/+6And that noise you may have just heard was the sound of the joke flying over your head.
        • Lunarbunny, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Well sorry, only reason I've ever used SCSI is the disk connection aspect of it (I have a moderately 'old' Adaptec Ultra160 card and 10K/36.7GB/U160 Seagate Cheetah in my computer). I've not used it in any of its other forms. The fact that I'm 20 might be the reason.
    • StephSchiff, on 05/12/2008, -2/+1Two things - one you missed the joke, two, I'm sure there are plenty of under 21s that have never heard of SCSI. Try asking one of them to DOS Shell or execute a program from the command prompt. Or mention a BBS or Prodigy! It's actually pretty funny for those of us younger than the Gen Xers but older than the Millenials (I'm 30).
      • GliTCH82, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2I helped my cousin run a BBS on an XT machine with Wildcat and he would make ANSI graphics for it with TheDraw. I remember he always got off school after I did so I'd always boot up Betsy with a Falcon DOS disk and then play F-19 Stealth Fighter in full CGA graphics glory. I think that machine clocked in at 9 MHz.
        • xaeon, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1The big question is, did you have a soundblaster compatible sound card? God forbid trying to play a DOS game without a soundblaster compatible sound card.
  • rockrapdude, on 05/12/2008, -1/+81So the internet is a series of tubes?
    • AAK15, on 05/12/2008, -0/+15It always has been silly
    • itsthebrod, on 05/12/2008, -0/+22Just realize you can't pee in all of them... Different tubes go to different places!
    • KMartSheriff, on 05/12/2008, -0/+35Do you see any big trucks going around with "INTERNET" on the side?
      • iofthestorm, on 05/12/2008, -0/+10Yeah, those Comcast High Speed internet trucks... /rollseyes
    • zydeco, on 05/12/2008, -0/+17Well, now the tube is a series of internets.
    • jpl7986, on 05/12/2008, -3/+1damn, you beat me to it!
  • mrstoneok, on 05/12/2008, -2/+10Am I honestly going to be the first person to question the security of this? Or is it really harder to get into the sewers in the UK? Maybe they fancy protecting their poo.
    • twiztidsinz, on 05/12/2008, -0/+9No harder than to get at existing phone or any other telecommunications line..

      Correction... it would be harder to get to, but easier to hide once you're there.
    • Firehed, on 05/12/2008, -0/+5If you're good enough to live splice a fiber line without attracting attention or causing disruption to anyone using it, getting to the fiber is probably the least of your worries.
      • mrstoneok, on 05/12/2008, -1/+0Hmmmm... I definitely don't know enough about it... wikipedia here i come
    • theHM, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3You should always assume that anyone can see all your network traffic. Never rely on people not doing so.
      • synyster, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1n reality there are always someone watch your network traffic,
  • bokep, on 05/12/2008, -10/+10Stop posting ***** jokes.
  • Cattywampus, on 05/12/2008, -4/+9Wow, I laughed out loud when Google did that April Fool's joke, but it's even funnier that someone's (sort of) putting it into practice.
  • Maratanos, on 05/12/2008, -19/+4This has nothing to do with TiSP whatsoever. It's simply a practical choice for the location of new cables. The title implies that there's some sort of connection here and it's just ridiculously misleading.
  • jonnyoliver, on 05/12/2008, -10/+7When this is up and running, can someone do a speed test and get a screen dump? (Sorry)
  • kris33, on 05/12/2008, -0/+11Here in Norway, they just twist them around the telephone cables
    • DeFex, on 05/12/2008, -0/+20thats too easy and not expensive enough.
  • AAK15, on 05/12/2008, -2/+54Even when Google jokes around they come up with brilliant ideas

    Is there no stopping this company? lol
  • flarn2006, on 05/12/2008, -11/+5It may not require digging up anything, but I'm digging up this article!
  • nizzy1115, on 05/12/2008, -16/+6I can has security r1sk?
    • twiztidsinz, on 05/12/2008, -0/+10no, you cant.
    • ZigVicious, on 05/12/2008, -0/+161 c@n +yp3 l1k3 a f@gg0+?
    • jpl7986, on 05/12/2008, -4/+2no, only cheezburger
    • theHM, on 05/12/2008, -0/+4Do you really think your network traffic is safe from eavesdropping at the moment?
      • protogenxl, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1If you can splice a fiber cable in a dark, dirty, and vomit inducing environment more power to you.
  • VandyB, on 05/12/2008, -2/+6Yeah that's all well and good but I could really do with them hurrying up with my GooglePaper e-mails that I ordered tomorrow thanks to GMail custom time.
  • AlexanderZero, on 05/12/2008, -2/+6Even if they expanded such an idea to the US, my neighborhood uses septic tanks. T_T
    • genezorz, on 05/12/2008, -0/+7good luck flushing your condoms
    • jpl7986, on 05/12/2008, -0/+6you could turn your septic tank into a wireless router if you really wanted to.
  • laronde20, on 05/12/2008, -24/+3Not actually Google TiSP. Buried as inaccurate.
    • Elliottx, on 05/12/2008, -0/+23Yes, because we actually CARE that this is inaccurate. Burried for being a *****.
      • Doji, on 05/12/2008, -0/+17Dugg for using the word *****.
        • jpl7986, on 05/12/2008, -0/+11dugg for digging that for that reason
          • Elliottx, on 05/12/2008, -0/+15Dugg for digging the digg of me using the word *****.
  • Owwmykneecap, on 05/12/2008, -0/+9I would like to upgrading your internet service providings with our new internet service providings: the sewer internet providings for only £89.97 a month.
    • StephSchiff, on 05/12/2008, -3/+3Good lord how much do you people pay for internet? I pay about $30 (US) per month - unlimited down and up, close to T1 speeds, decent service and (not sure if we're supposed to or not) we have all 5 computers hooked up to it (3 wired, 2 wireless). That includes email, web page, storage, access, etc. Glad I don't live in the UK!
      • xaeon, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3We get pretty decent speeds for the price to be honest. Currently I'm paying £18 (about $36) a month for 24MB download, 2.5MB upload, unlimited usage, very reliable service, free wireless router, static IP, one month contract, etc, etc (And myself and a friend both get a month's service free whenever I recommend a friend).

        That's pretty good if you ask me.
        • inchino, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1it's a quote from a tv show called phone jacker, yes it is a joke post.
      • Mycael, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3I'm pretty sure he was joking. I pay £10 a month for 16mb. I get 11megs
        • xaeon, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1It was a sketch from Phonejacker, by the way. The hilarious Nigerian scammer.
      • synyster, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1dont' forget the £10 BT line rental if you not with virgin
  • theholyraptor, on 05/12/2008, -0/+6Other places have been running fiber optic lines in sewers. This isn't really new and other stories have been on digg about those locations getting fiber in sewer lines. There was even something about a robot that they'd drive through piping to run some of the cabling.
    • DomZy, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1This particular company, H20, have been around for a while also (pre TiSP) because I remember reading an article on the BBC about them
  • AeroGuy, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2What does TiSP stand for? I looked at the Google pages and it seems like they purposely avoid telling you what it stands for. Or is that part of the joke somehow? Or is it NSFW or something?
    • andre321, on 05/12/2008, -0/+6Toilet Internet Service Provider
      • AeroGuy, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1Thanks. I guess maybe I should have used Google, huh? Ironic. Sigh. I should get a GIYF sign for over my monitor.
      • rdoger6424, on 05/12/2008, -2/+1I thought that it was some wordplay on "*****". Thanks
  • Elliottx, on 05/12/2008, -10/+3Take that America! You bitch!
  • scabbers, on 05/12/2008, -0/+18So does the cable come up through the toilet?
    • bloaty, on 05/12/2008, -2/+2No, they just open up a sewage pipe in your living room, next your ***** PC so that the smell is the same!
    • jpl7986, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3i'd be very cautious while dropping a #2
  • jokeoftheday, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3it will make it easier to flush all those wires when city wireless hits...
  • JeffMaster, on 05/12/2008, -6/+3I am speechless. I am without speech.
  • rafac24, on 05/12/2008, -4/+3"The Toilet Internet Service Provider (TiSP) project is a self-installed, ad-supported online service that will be offered entirely free to any consumer with a WiFi-capable PC and a toilet connected to a local municipal sewage system"
  • farzadb, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1Soooo... does this mean the fiber cable come out the toilet ?

    Who would have thought the Manga writers were right, with all the multi-armed squiggly monsters invading your orifices whilst one is on the can! *shudder*
  • hobophobe, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3This just makes too much sense to deny. The basic idea could be expanded to other data lines and even electricity lines.

    Ultimately we'll have some sort of pipes or conduits running underground and have specialty robots that can crawl the tunnels and repair, remove, and lay new lines.
    • rdoger6424, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Sewer Rats!
    • Mycael, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Wouldn't electricity be a bit dangerous?
      • synyster, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1have you not hear you can use electricity line to get internet connection, it has been around for ages.
      • hobophobe, 12 hr 53 min ago, -0/+1Depends how the system was designed. Some places already bury their electricity lines in the ground. Something we'd want to make sure was considered though.
    • Smiff2, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1we already have robots which do that.
  • gaimlover, on 05/12/2008, -7/+5Related: Gordon Browne and Tony Blair comment on state of the sewers (http://tinyurl.com/2msmwl)
    • bumcheekcity, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1*****
    • theHM, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Do you really think anyone's going to click a tinyurl link? My bet's on it being lemonparty or tubgirl.
    • atgmac, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Browne?
  • hadak, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3Google is so progressive, they don't even realize it.
  • D3koy, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1can you imagine the maintenance? rats chewing through lines, ***** and whatnot...Cable repairman is not a job I'd want...
  • Zachari, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1Great. Now they can look at their grandkid's pictures and get sucked into phishing scams at a higher speed!
  • TheCoreh, on 05/12/2008, -0/+10Is it just me, or for some reason the sewer pic looks like one of the scenes on the Rick Roll clip?
  • schmitey, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Sewers have rats. Rats like to chew on things. I'm going to laugh my ass off when they reek havoc!
    • bobengle3, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2And,they will also wreak havoc. Although I'm sure it does reek down there.
    • Mycael, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Can rat climb the sewer walls? You could just put the cable on the top, and then a aluminuium casing?
  • faizal5k, on 05/12/2008, -4/+3Funny thing about the Google TiSP is, my cousin actually believed it when it was announced two years ago and believed it until just a couple months ago.
    Cousin: "Man I can't wait for Google's TiSP to come around this area."
    Me: "Wait, you mean that thing where you put wires through the sewers to get internet access?"
    Cousin: "YEA!!! You heard about it too?!"
    Me: "HAHAHAHA!!! YEA, except...it was an April Fool's joke!!! HAHAHA!!"
    Cousin: "Oh -_- "
  • neocr0n, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Finally now our Internet can literally come up the toilet instead of going down the toilet which is what its being doing of late. A pathetic network nationwide and too many people on it.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 69 of 69 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.