Google Fiber's renewed expansion initiative is taking the broadband service provider to another state: Idaho.

Google Fiber announced last week that Pocatello is its first fiber network buildout target in the state. Construction is expected to begin by the end of this year, with the first Google Fiber customers expected to come online around mid-2024.

"We're kicking off the engineering process and working with the city to get ready for construction, which we expect to start late this year," Silvia Castro, Google Fiber's government and community affairs manager for Utah and Idaho, explained in this blog post. "We plan to begin connecting Pocatello residents and businesses to fast, reliable internet in the middle of 2024."

Figure 1: (Source: Zoonar GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo)

According to current US Census data, Pocatello has a population of about 57,092 (as of July 1, 2021) with about 22,000 households.

"This is a game changer and will have positive effects on our community and bring additional economic development," Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad said of Google Fiber's decision to build there, according to the Idaho State Journal.

Google Fiber has stood up a web page to track its progress in Pocatello. Google Fiber hasn't announced pricing and packaging for that market, but its baseline symmetrical 1-Gig service currently sells for $70 per month in other markets, and its 2-Gig offering fetches $100 per month. Depending on the market, Google Fiber also sells a 5-Gig service for $125 per month and recently introduced a new 8-Gig service for $150 per month in Mesa, Arizona.

Competition for Cable One and Lumen

Google Fiber's move into Pocatello, home to Idaho State University, will put it in competition with incumbent providers Cable One and Lumen.

Update: Direct Communications is also present in the Pocatello market.

Cable One launched its "GigaONE" service in Pocatello back in the summer of 2016, and is sizing up the use of DOCSIS 4.0 to deliver multi-gigabit speeds on its hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) networks.

The buildout plan in Pocatello enters the mix as Google Fiber accelerates network expansion activities in several US states.

Here's an updated list of Google Fiber's current and planned service deployments, and if the deployment is focused on FTTP or the Webpass fixed wireless access platform:

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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading