Google Fiber is coming next to Huntsville, Alabama, where it will bring its gigabit Internet on the municipal broadband network.
This means that Google will not have to install its own fiber, it will instead push its service on the network that Huntsville Utilities is building. Huntsville Utilities is under the city's ownership.
Under the new agreement, Google will lease space from Huntsville to offer its ultra-fast gigabit Internet service on the city's network. It's worth pointing out, however, that this agreement is not exclusive, so other ISPs could use the same fiber to offer broadband Internet services.
The fiber network is still in the works, as Huntsville has been planning to build it for more than a year.
"Like any infrastructure, such as roads or electric grids, a fiber network is a long-term investment that can benefit a city for decades," Google explains. "In 2014, Huntsville's leaders shared their vision for a community energized by superfast speeds - and they decided to build a network that could support an electrical smart grid and other municipal needs, plus provide the best of the Web for local families, entrepreneurs, businesses and academics alike."
The city invited fiber providers to seek agreements in order to achieve that goal, so Google accepted the challenge to bring its Google Fiber service to Huntsville. With nearly 190,000 residents, the city is a great destination for Google's services.
As local news station WHNT reports, Huntsville officials see this partnership as a "low-risk investment" because it's more preferable than hiring lots of personnel for offering the gigabit Internet themselves, especially since they don't have extensive expertise in this area.
The same report notes that Huntsville residents should be able to start taking advantage of Google Fiber by the middle of next year, but it could take a few more years to have the service up and running throughout the entire city.
Nevertheless, Google Fiber is rapidly gaining momentum and is shaping up as a great solution for blazing-fast Internet. Google is making significant efforts toward expanding its service in more areas nationwide and just recently it managed to overcome some hurdles AT&T and Time Warner Cable threw its way in Louisville, Kentucky.
Google will be going up against AT&T in Huntsville as well, as the carrier also plans to bring its GigaPower fiber Internet service to the city.
Comcast, meanwhile, is also planning to expand its gigabit Internet service to more cities, but consumers generally seem more excited about Google Fiber than Comcast.
