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Internet connection speeds have come a long ways since the dreaded dial-up era in the 1990s. Now, residents from the east coast to west can choose from broadband-speed cable, DSL, and even satellite Internet. But a new generation of high-speed Internet is making its way across the country thanks to the search engine giant.
Extreme speeds with Google Fiber
Originally launched as a trial service in a small residential community in Palo Alto, California, Google Fiber is an ultra-high-speed Internet service and TV service that’s currently being rolled out in dozens of cities throughout the U.S.
So, just how fast is Google Fiber? According to the official website, it offers speeds that “start” at 100 times faster than current broadband speeds, or in other words about 1 Gigabyte per second. The program is limited to the U.S. as of now, but there’s a good chance Google will begin installing it in the U.K. if the years to come.
Google is currently offering three different service plans for customers:
- Free Internet – max download speeds of 5 Mbit/s and max upload speeds of 1 Mbit/s. Free for a full decade, as long as the customer pays the $30-$300 one-time “construction fee.”
- Gigabit – max download speeds of 1 Gbit/s and max upload speeds of 1 Gbit/s. TV service and network box included, as well as 1 TB storage on Google Drive. Costs $70/month.
- Gigabit + TV – max download speeds of 1 Gbit/s and max upload speeds of 1 Gbit/s. TV service and network box included, as well as 2 TB DVR storage, and 1 TB Google Drive storage. Costs $120/month plus additional fees for extra channels.
Kansas City, Kansas is the latest city to receive Google Fiber. The Mountain View company announced the news on its blog, saying the early access program is now open for small businesses in serviceable areas in the Kansas City area.
“Now we’re taking another step to speed up the Internet for small businesses—today, we’re kicking off an Early Access Program for Google Fiber for Small Business in select areas of central Kansas City. And whether a business uses their connection to move to the cloud, get closer to customers on Hangouts, or bring more transactions online, we’re excited to see what happens when Kansas City businesses say farewell to slow speeds and hello to all the tools and technologies that they need to grow,” wrote Google in a blog post announcing the rollout of Google Fiber in Kansas City.
