Google Fiber will double the maximum internet speed offered to its customers starting later this year from 1 Gbps to 2 Gbps, the company announced this week. The new plan will cost $100 a month, $30 more than the company’s existing 1 Gbps option. However, only downloads will be offered at the new maximum speed; uploads will remain at 1 Gbps. With the new plan, Google says it will provide customers with an unspecified “new Wi-Fi 6 router and mesh extender” to make the most of the new speeds.
Pilots of the new plan are due to kick off in Nashville, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama, next month, with a full rollout in the two cities planned for later in the year. The company says it currently offers Google Fiber and Google Fiber Webpass (which uses over-the-air transmission rather than fiber optic cables) in 19 cities in the US. 2 Gbps pilots are due to start in its other markets later this year, with a rollout in “most” cities in early 2021.
This is the first major new product announcement from Google Fiber since it started phasing out products to focus on its high-speed internet services. Last December, it stopped offering 100 Mbps internet to new customers, and earlier this year, it dropped its TV package offering. A Google Fiber executive previously said that the cost of acquiring video content was a big impediment to rolling the service out more widely. With the 2 Gbps rollout, it looks like we’re finally seeing the fruits of Google Fiber’s more focused approach to high-speed internet.
If you’re in a Google Fiber city and interested in signing up for the faster service, then you can do so over on its website, where you’ll need to provide your email address and street address.
