Google Fiber has started construction in five metropolitan areas and has announced plans to expand into another dozen cities within the next few years, and these dozen cities will likely be the testing grounds for the service’s usage of wireless technology.
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Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) were up in pre-market trading on Monday as the Google parent company plans to reconsider installing wired connections of its Google Fiber service and is instead exploring wireless technology.
Google is considering expanding its superfast Internet network to 34 cities in nine metro areas.
Google Fiber won’t release actual subscriber numbers, but a MoffettNathanson report revealed in March that the Google Fiber had 53,000 TV service subscribers.
In an interview with Recode earlier this year, Craig Barratt, CEO of the Access unit that oversees Fiber, said the company is working on connecting wireless towers to existing fiber lines and is “experimenting with a number of different wireless technologies” to make that happen. But if Google can deliver broadband service that’s cheaper or faster (or both) than what’s offered by other internet service providers (ISPs) in an area, the competition could help drive down prices for everyone in a service area. Projects in San Jose, California and Portland, Oregon have been suspended.
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Google Fiber was supposed to be a beacon of light in a world full of slow internet speeds – but things aren’t going quite like the company planned. Officials in two of those target cities – Mountain View and Palo Alto – have said Google recently told them those deployments had been delayed, according to the Mercury News. Google’s wireless approach would entail using its fiber network to feed antennas that wirelessly connect customers to the internet, something that would help cut back on costs significantly. The idea is to provide higher speed, low-priced internet services – delivered straight to nearly every home in the United States.
