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Google’s TiSP, or “Toilet Internet Service Provider,” was an April Fools’ joke published on April 1, 2007—not a real internet service. Its central conceit was not entirely made up, though: a company called CityNet Telecom had deployed fiber-optic cable in municipal sewers using a robot. That was a specialized city-network project, not a connection anyone could install by flushing cable down a toilet.
What Google TiSP claimed
Google’s archived announcement presented “Google TiSP” as a beta service with the tagline “Dark porcelain.” The fictional setup had users feed fiber-optic cable through household plumbing into a municipal sewer, where it would reach an access node. A mock kit supposedly included fiber cable, a wireless router, an installation CD, and a setup guide. These were elements of the gag, not real product specifications or usable installation instructions. Google’s archived announcement makes the comic premise explicit.
The announcement even quoted Google co-founder and president Larry Page saying, “There’s actually a thriving little underground community that’s been studying this exact solution for a long time.” In context, the line is part of the fictional April Fools’ copy, not evidence that Google had developed or operated the service.
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Reusing existing sewer routes for fiber-optic infrastructure was a real idea. Data Center Knowledge reported that CityNet Telecom used a computer-controlled robot called SAM to place fiber in municipal sewers, avoiding the need to excavate streets. The report says CityNet wired sewers in Albuquerque and Indianapolis before merging with Universal Access in 2003. Data Center Knowledge’s account of CityNet describes an engineered municipal deployment.
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TiSP and CityNet were not the same system
| Aspect | Google TiSP | CityNet Telecom |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Fictional Google April Fools’ announcement dated April 1, 2007; no real consumer service is established. | Reported sewer-fiber deployment approach; Data Center Knowledge says it served Albuquerque and Indianapolis. |
| Scale | Imagined user-installed connection routed from a household toilet. | Municipal network infrastructure deployed in city sewers. |
| Method | Mock instructions described feeding cable through plumbing toward a sewer access node. | Robot-assisted cable placement using CityNet’s computer-controlled SAM robot. |
The resemblance stops at the broad idea of using sewer infrastructure as a route for fiber. CityNet’s account describes specialized equipment and city-scale deployment; it does not validate the toilet-level installation Google described for comic effect. The Associated Press report republished by Redmond also identified TiSP as a prank, not a launched ISP. The contemporaneous AP report republished by Redmond provides that context.
What the funding figures do—and do not—show
Data Center Knowledge’s 2007 report deck says CityNet’s sewer-broadband business plan received $375 million. The article’s body separately says the company launched with $100 million and received another $175 million in 2001. Those stated components total $275 million, so the report does not reconcile them with the $375 million headline figure. The amounts should not be treated as a verified, consistent funding total.
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Was Google’s toilet internet real?
No. TiSP was satire, not an available Google product, and the evidence does not establish actual TiSP performance, pricing, or operation. The real precedent was narrower: CityNet’s reported use of robotic equipment to install fiber in municipal sewers. It shows why the joke sounded faintly plausible without making the fictional household setup real.
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- High-End: This metal-free fiber optic audio cable, featuring a fully flexible PVC jacket, is entirely immune to electrical interference. Each cable undergoes multi-stage testing during manufacturing to ensure maximum product quality and durability
- 24K gold-plated connectors: Corrosion resistant gold plating keeps connectors clean. And because these cables are fiber optic, they provide 100 % signal transmission with 0 % loss
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