Google Fiber is expanding into another market in Utah and looking for businesses and organizations to kick the tires on 20-Gig speeds in four of its broadband markets.
Following a home-based 20-Gig trial announced last fall taking place in the Kansas City-area home of Google Fiber's Head of Commercial Strategy Nick Saporito, Google Fiber has also been testing those speeds at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Google Fiber is now seeking businesses, non-profits and educational institutions to test 20-Gig connections in four more markets: Austin, Texas; Huntsville, Alabama; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; and Salt Lake City.
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(Source: Zoonar GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo)
One thing Google Fiber would like to learn is what kind of services and applications would require 20-Gig speeds. Saporito noted that his home test of 20-Gig included multiple 4K streams of recent World Cup matches, "but we didn't even come close to using it all."
Google Fiber hasn't said when or if it might offer a tier that would deliver that much speed. But its baseline symmetrical 1-Gig service currently sells for $70 per month, 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 has begun to market an 8-Gig service in cities such as Mesa, Arizona, for $150 per month.
Expansion into Logan, Utah
On the expansion side, Google Fiber announced that it will launch services in Logan, Utah, following a new license agreement with the city.
Google Fiber expects to start construction in Logan later this year and to light up services in the market sometime in 2024. Google Fiber has erected a website for residents and businesses to keep tabs on its progress in Logan, where it will face off with incumbent wireline broadband providers Comcast and Lumen/CenturyLink.
Google Fiber didn't say how many locations it will add via the build in Logan. According to US Census data, Logan has more than 17,100 housing units and a population of 54,436 as of July 2021.
In Utah, Google Fiber also offers services in parts of Salt Lake City and Provo.
The agreement with Logan arrives as Google Fiber looks to expand fiber buildouts 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