We previously reported Google Fiber may be coming to Austin, Texas. This has now been confirmed by the official blog of Google.
Google made the announcement along with Mayor Lee Leffingwell. The city was also praised for its entrepreneurial creative spirit.
As of now, Google Fiber is available in Kanas and Kansas City, Kansas City and Missouri. Other nearby cities have been purported to receive the expansion as well.
This is the statement from the official blog post:
“Our goal is to start connecting homes in Austin by mid-2014. Customers there will have a similar choice of products as our customers in Kansas City: Gigabit Internet or Gigabit Internet plus our Google Fiber TV service with nearly 200 HD TV channels. We’re still working out pricing details, but we expect them to be roughly similar to Kansas City. Also, as in Kansas City, we’re going to offer customers a free Internet connection at 5 mbps for 7 years, provided they pay a one-time construction fee. We’re also planning to connect many public institutions as we build in Austin— schools, hospitals, community centers, etc. — at a gigabit for no charge. If you live in Austin and want to sign up for more information, please visit our website.”
Google has taken a big step towards expanding the Google Fiber network. The average speed in U.S is 7.2 megabits per second according to State of the Internet report from Akamai, but Google Fiber is going to take that up to 1 gigabit per second, at an expense of $70 per month only.
Google also released a new video on Google Fiber, talking about what if offers for industries.