He pointed to this week’s tech-heavy announcements from his office – free Wi-Fi for some areas of the Russell neighborhood, the release of 49 new sets of data in the city’s Open Data Portal, and now Google Fiber – to highlight the city’s innovation “momentum”. By March, Google Fiber had 30,000 subscribers, Bloomberg reports.
In addition to its $70 a month residential plan, Google Fiber offers an Internet plus TV package for $130 a month.
Google believes San Diego, Irvine, and Louisville all have potential to become tech hubs. Each party must pitch in: Google conducts a detailed study to detect factors that could affect construction, and city officials complete a checklist of items to prepare for a large-scale gigabit build.
A technician gets cabling out of his truck to install Google Fiber in a residential home in Provo, Utah.
The current cities whose approval for the Fiber program is till pending are: Portland, Ore., San Jose, Calif. and Phoenix.
Fiber networks aren’t just about meeting today’s speed needs. Google figures it will benefit if the Internet is available at faster speeds by making online access a more enjoyable experience, increasing the chances that people will see ads at the Mountain View, California, company’s search engine or its other services such as the popular YouTube video site.
Google Fiber, which delivers Web speeds of 1 gigabit per second, is about 3 times quicker than premium high-speed Web providers from suppliers reminiscent of AT&T.
The answer to many questions about the future with Google Fiber is “it’s too soon to tell”. Google Fiber is in the process of expanding to six additional metro areas: Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Nashville, Raleigh Durham, N.C., Salt Lake City, and San Antonio. Then comes construction, which includes stringing and laying thousands of miles of state-of-the-art fiber optic cable, followed a gradual roll-out of service to the city.
That step, according to Jill Szuchmacher, the Fiber Expansion Director, is a joint planning session with the individual city leaders.
Google has begun talks with San Diego city officials about bringing its ultra high-speed service to the region.