After announcing it would assess the potential for bringing gigabit services to Irvine, Calif.; Louisville, Ky.; and San Diego, Calif. in September, Google Fiber Inc. has now extended the same evaluation process to three new cities. They are Oklahoma City, Okla.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Tampa, Fla.

Much like a candidate forming an exploratory committee, Google hasn't committed to actually deploying gigabit service in any of these regions, but just the possibility is enough to get citizens excited… and to make competitors nervous. (See Gigabites: A Gigabit Battle in Tennessee.)

Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) marked a win this week with its Advanced Communities Network solution. As part of an effort to gain more MDU business, the company has now deployed the fiber-based service with its first customer in Connecticut. College & Crown, a property in New Haven with mixed residential and retail space, now has access to broadband and TV services from Comcast. Those services also come with the promise of gigabit broadband once DOCSIS 3.1 technology is available.

Completely unrelated to each other (except in name), both CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) and Suddenlink Communications recently expanded their gigabit network rollouts. CenturyLink said it has launched service for 36,000 new homes in parts of Tacoma, Wash. Suddenlink has introduced gigabit broadband to communities in Tyler, Victoria and Georgetown, Texas, as well as Bossier City, La.

— Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video, Light Reading