Google Fiber in Kansas City. Parts of San Francisco are targeted by Google Fiber as Michael Slinger, the director of business operations issued a public statement recently.
Parts of San Francisco are targeted by Google Fiber as Michael Slinger, the director of business operations issued a public statement recently.
According to Slinger, Google Fiber aims to connect condos, affordable housing and San Francisco apartments to its gigabit service. The announcement is big news. Nonetheless, Google Fiber hasn’t provided many details on the implementation of the ambitious plans. It also looks like we’ll be kept in the dark for awhile while the company is developing plans.
What’s for certain is that parts of San Francisco are targeted by Google Fiber. In addition, the Google Fiber network won’t be built from scratch. The team behind the project aims to use existing fiber networks to speed up the process. Google Fiber is already following a similar path while working with Huntsville, Alabama to gain access to the fiber network of the municipality.
Some analysts consider Google Fiber’s intention to tap into existing fiber networks as the wrong way to go. However, others believe that while it may limit the range of possibilities and covered area, it means a much faster starting point and a solid building stone. Michael Slinger declared:
“To date, we’ve focused mostly on building fiber-optic networks from scratch. Now, as Google Fiber grows, we’re looking for more ways to serve cities of different shapes and sizes”.
As such, parts of San Francisco are targeted by Google Fiber. While not all of San Francisco will be included in the range of the free gigabit internet service, some affordable housing properties and public housing properties are included in the deal.
While no details of the fiber network have been released yet, the fact the Google Fiber plans to offer the free gigabit internet service in San Francisco is a plus both for businesses setting up camp here and for residents.
Over 800,000 people live in the city. Moreover, San Francisco is a real hub for tech entrepreneurs eager to bring new services on the market. Comcast as well as AT&T have also expressed their intent to connect San Francisco to high-speed internet. With this web of providers, San Francisco may soon be better connected than other parts of the U.S.
For close-by Silicon Valley, that’s great news. Priming the market for the cohort of tech businesses will certainly bring these one step further. As for the poor neighborhoods, Google Fiber is following the same principle of bridging the digital divide gap.
Photo Credits: Wikimedia
