Google Fiber making a 5-gig internet tier available in 12 markets after expanding service in CO and TX
Google Fiber is making a 5-gig internet tier available to customers in four of its 12 existing metro markets. Customers in West Des Moines, Iowa; Kansas City, Kansas/Missouri; and Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah can now sign up for the symmetrical service for $125 per month. That cost compares to $70 per month for its symmetrical 1-gig plan and $100 per month for its asymmetrical 2-gig offering.
In particular, Google Fiber’s 5 Gig tier offers symmetrical upload and download speeds with a Wi-Fi 6 router (or you can easily use your own), up to two mesh extenders and professional installation, all for $125 a month. Installation also includes an upgraded 10 Gig Fiber Jack, which means your home will be prepared for even more internet when the time comes.
As homes get “smarter” and every device is set up to stream, having access to higher speed, higher bandwidth internet becomes even more important. 5 Gig is designed to handle the demands of heavy internet users — for example, creative professionals, people working in the cloud or with large data, households with large shared internet demands. 5 Gig will make it easier to upload and download simultaneously, no matter the file size, and will make streaming a dream even with multiple devices.
The 5 Gig tier will be expanded to additional cities later this year and Google Fiber reiterated plans to debut an 8-gig offering in the near future as well. Google noted in a blog that those who opt for the 5-gig plan will be upgraded to a 10-gig fiber jack during installation, teeing customers up to receive “even more internet when the time comes.”
Here’s their Valentine’s Day message:
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The operator is the latest to move up the multi-gig stack, following in the footsteps of AT&T, Altice USA, Frontier Communications, Greenlight Networks and Ziply Fiber. Once it launches its 8-gig service, it will join the likes of Lumen Technologies, TDS Telecom and Frontier Communications as per this post.
Earlier this week Google Fiber announced that it will expand services to Westminster, Colorado, and Chandler, Arizona. The move will pit Google Fiber up against incumbents that include Comcast and Lumen in Colorado, and Cox Communications and Lumen in Arizona. Data from BroadbandNow notes that Google Fiber competes with AT&T in Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri.
References:
https://fiber.google.com/blog/2023/02/fall-in-love-with-fast-5-gig-is-here.html
https://fiber.google.com/blog/2023/02/google-fiber-continues-to-grow-next-up.html
Frontier Communications offers first network-wide symmetrical 5 Gig fiber internet service
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What’s fascinating is that Google no longer seems to care about households on the other side of the digital divide. When they first came out with Google Fiber they had a $5/month plan (granted with artificially limited speeds). Now, the cheapest plan appears to be $70/month.
It isn’t obvious whether they are supporting the FCC’s ACP (Affordable Connectivity Program). However, if they were their base price would be $40 per month, assuming $30/month FCC subsidy on the $70/month package.
Some of the nice features/differentiators they used to have, like a terabyte of storage as part of the $70/month plan, no longer seem to be included in the service.
https://viodi.com/2013/04/03/google-fiber-a-step-function-connectivity-improvement/