Google Fiber is using its service launch in the Mesa, Arizona, market to also serve as the initial launch point for its new symmetrical 8 Gbit/s broadband service.

The 8-Gig tier, now Google Fiber's fastest, sells for $150 per month and comes with a Wi-Fi 6 router and two Wi-Fi mesh extenders.

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

That offering complements three other symmetrical broadband service tiers:

Google Fiber's debut in the Westwood neighborhood of Mesa arrives about eight months after the city council there approved the buildout. Mesa, the first city in Arizona to get service from Google Fiber, is also being served by primary incumbent providers Cox Communications and Lumen.

Update: Google Fiber followed up on April 4 with an announced 8-Gig launch in West Des Moines, Iowa, where it competes with Mediacom Communications.

Amid the revamp of its network expansion strategy, Google Fiber expects to start construction later this year in Chandler, Arizona, Ashley Church, GM for Google Fiber's west region, said in a blog post.

As announced last fall, Google Fiber is also in the process of launching new 5-Gig and 8-Gig tiers in additional markets in 2023. Its new 5-Gig service is already available in several Google Fiber markets, including Kansas City, West Des Moines, Iowa, and all the cities it provides service to in Utah.

Google Fiber has also conducted lab tests in Kansas City that produced downstream speeds of 20.2 Gbit/s.

Here's an updated snapshot of where Google Fiber currently provides or plans to provide via FTTP or fixed-wireless Webpass services:

Related posts:

— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading