Google is slowly but surely blanketing the country with its high-speed fiber optic gigabit internet network.
Surprisingly, the California-based technology company hasn't — up until very recently — connected any cities in the state to its service.
Now, San Jose is just a bit closer to hold the title of becoming the first city in California to carry Google Fiber. The Mountain View-headquartered tech giant is seeking permission from city officials to build two "Fiber Huts" in the city. These Fiber Huts are an important first step to bringing high speed internet to San Jose businesses and residents.
"We continue to make great progress working alongside city leaders, and hope to share an update soon," said Google Fiber spokeswoman Kelly Mason.
As of today, only three other cities in the U.S. are fitted with Fiber: Kansas City, Missouri; Austin, Texas; and Provo, Utah. In San Jose, Google hopes to install 1,340 miles worth of fiber optic cables underground and an additional 960 above ground using existing utility poles.
As for pricing, in Kansas, Google offers Fiber in three different flavors. The Basic Internet plan comes at no monthly cost for speeds up to 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. There is, however, a one-time $300 construction fee. The next tier up, Gigabit Internet, waives the $300 construction fee as long as you can commit to at least a year with the service and you'll get 1 Gigabit (that's 1,000 Mbps) uploads and downloads for $70 a month. Finally, customers can avail of both high-speed internet and cable TV for $130 a month on the Gigabit+TV plan. That includes gigabit speeds and 150+ channels in full HD.
The competition, at least in San Jose, will have some catching up to do with Google Fiber. Comcast's speediest internet offering tops off at 250 Mbps while AT&T sinks to the bottom with only 18 Mbps. Google's lead won't last too long, however.
Comcast just launched a new 2 gigabit-service that will soon be available to Northern and Central California residents. In addition, AT&T is reportedly opening its GigaPower fiber-optic network that also offers gigabit speeds in the coming months. Nonetheless, Google coming into town brings about healthy competition and ultimately benefits customers with better Internet at more competitive prices.
Photo: LBJ Foundation | Flickr
