Mayor Becker on Google Fiber Construction Launch
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – June 10, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – Following the announcement Wednesday morning by Google that construction of the Salt Lake City fiber network was underway, Mayor Ralph Becker released the following statement:
“The exciting news that Google has begun construction on the Salt Lake City fiber network is another example of the tremendous roll Salt Lake City is on right now. When completed, Google Fiber will provide our residents new options to make a huge leap in internet speeds and will open a universe of exciting possibilities for Salt Lake City. Entrepreneurial innovation, education and connecting people with big ideas, and each other, have always been hallmarks of Salt Lake City, and this new addition will add even more. I couldn’t be more proud of Salt Lake City and the opportunities Google Fiber will bring.”
Google Fiber is Google’s fiber-to-the-premises service in the United States, providing broadband internet and cable television to a small and slowly increasing number of locations. As of March 2015, Google Fiber had 27,000 television subscribers.
The service was first introduced to Kansas City metropolitan area, followed by expansion to 20 Kansas City area suburbs within three years. Initially proposed as an experimental project, Google Fiber was announced as a viable business model on December 12, 2012, when Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt stated “It’s actually not an experiment, we’re actually running it as a business,” at the New York Times’ Deal Book Conference.
Google Fiber announced expansion to Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah in April 2013. In February 2014, Google announced they had chosen another 34 cities in nine metro areas as candidates for future expansion. In January 2015, Google selected Atlanta, Charlotte,Raleigh, Durham, and Nashville as the next markets that will receive Google Fiber deployments. On March 24, 2015, Google announced it would be expanding Google Fiber into Salt Lake City.
Interested residents can follow the project and sign up for updates at https://fiber.google.com/cities/saltlakecity/.
