Google Fiber Is Coming To Charlotte
Google Fiber is coming to Charlotte, Mayor Dan Clodfelter and Google announced during Tuesday’s press conference.
“This is a major, major win for our city,” Clodfelter said during the announcement.
The installation of Google’s high-end, 100x faster broadband speeds will “take time,” a company representative said Monday. An exact timeline was not provided as work begins to wire the city with the fiber-optic cables required for the system.
Pricing has not yet been announced but elsewhere in the country Google charges around $70-per month for internet and $120 for an internet/television combination.
“So with Google Fiber we downloaded 100 songs in three seconds and with traditional broadband, it would have been 10 minutes and 56 seconds,” said Alan Fitzpatrick, a founder of “Charlotte Hearts Gigabit.” Fitzpatrick said Google Fiber would mean faster Internet speeds and more competitive pricing for internet and TV services. Google Fiber could also attract new business, not just in the tech industry.
Google Fiber provides 1Gbps upstream and downstream connections to residential customers and even offers television service. If you don’t require gigabit speeds — or just simply don’t want to shell out $70 per month for Internet — a free option will be available that provides 1Mbps upstream and 5Mbps downstream speeds. (One time construction fee required.)
Google was already offering service in three metropolitan areas in the United States: Kansas City, Kansas; Austin, Texas; and Provo, Utah. Google added Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta, and Nashville to that list Monday. All four Southeast cities were on Google’s official list for possible expansion. No word on whether the other cities on that list (San Antonio, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Jose and Portland) will get service soon too.
www.google.com/fiber/charlotte
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