After delays of more than a year, tech titan Google inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) announced that its high-speed Internet connection service Google Fiber is arriving in Austin, Texas. Google initially announced plans to launch Fiber in Austin back in mid-2013, but was bogged in numerous delays relating to planning, regulation and permitting. That said, by December, Central Texas residents will be able to take advantage of very high speed Google Fiber service in their homes. Fiber will initially be available in the south and southeast portions of Austin, and will launch the service to other areas of the city in stages.
Austin is the capital city of Texas and is known as a tech hub and one of the most wired cities in the country. The beautiful city in the Texas Hill Country also claims to be the Live Music Capital of the World.
More about the Google Fiber roll out in Austin
Mark Strama, the head of Google Fiber Austin, noted that the company is planning to charge a $300 construction fee in order to initially connect homes to Google Fiber, but a basic 5 Mbps service is included for no extra monthly fee as part of the deal. Moreover, if a multi-year contracts is signed, then the equipment fee is waived.
No further details regarding the price of Google Fiber in the city have been announced.
Strama did say that, “Not every part of Austin will get Fiber. But every area of Austin will have an opportunity to get it.”
Following same roll out model as in Kansas City
According to sources, Google is planning to roll out Fiber in Austin much as they did in Kansas City. The firm approaches residents in individual neighborhoods to commit to Fiber in advance. If commitments reach a specific level, then Google lays down the infrastructure for Fiber in these “Fiberhoods”.
Of note, a number of Kansas neighborhoods which did not reach the initial signup threshold have been given a second chance to reach the number of users to bring the service to their area.
