Google Fiber's third city: Provo, Utah
Google has chosen Provo, Utah to be the third city to get Google Fiber, the search giant's broadband service. Users can see Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second -- about 100 times faster than current speeds. Austin is the second major U.S. city to get Fiber.
"Utah is already home to hundreds of tech companies and startups, and many of them are based in Provo. In fact, the Provo area ranks second in the nation in patent growth, and is consistently ranked as one of the top places to live and do businessin the U.S.," Kevin Lo, general manager of Google Fiber, said in a blog post Wednesday.
Lo referred to the region as the "Silicon Slopes" -- a play on words, as the area is known for its ski resorts. The title of Lo's blog post, "Google Fiber -- on the Silicon Prairie, the Silicon Hills and now the Silicon Slopes," suggests that Google is targeting U.S. cities that have a less-known, yet robust tech community.
Google has already launched Fiber in Kansas City, and recently announced plans to expand the service to Austin, Texas. The cities have been called the Silicon Prarie and Silicon Hills, respectively. Although those cities aren't well-known tech meccas, like the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, the search giant has pointed out that they both have a burgeoning tech community.
The plans for Provo haven't been approved yet. The city council is set to vote on the plans on April 23.
- Google Fiber 1 gigabit Internet launches in Kansas City
- Google Fiber coming to Austin
- As Google Fiber expands to Olathe, Kan., millions of Americans still offline
Fiber began rolling out in Kansas City in November 2012. It's expected that Austin residents will pay similar prices with Kansas City. Customers now pay a $300 installation fee, and can choose to pay $70 a month for Internet. There is also a cable-like service that costs an additional $50 a month. The $300 fee is waived for customers who purchase a bundle.
This is Google's second expansion of Fiber in just a month. There are no other details of the next city that might get Fiber.
