Google selects Charlotte for high-speed Internet project
Google Fiber is coming to Charlotte.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based tech giant said Tuesday it has chosen the city as one of the new locations for its super-fast Internet service with speeds up to 100 times normal broadband. The selection had been expected since last week when Google invited local officials to an event Wednesday evening.
The project will bring disruptions to city streets and neighborhoods as fiber is laid underground or hung from poles. But the company says the service will be a coup for Charlotte, spurring new economic growth and putting the city in the upper echelon of Internet connectivity.
“Fiber will help put Charlotte on par with the fastest cities in the world, like Seoul, Tokyo and Zurich,” said Kevin Lo, director of Google Fiber business and operations.
Google announced last February that it had picked Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham as two of nine metropolitan areas where it next hoped to deploy its Google Fiber networks. City leaders officially applied for the service last year and have been awaiting Google’s response.
Raleigh-Durham, where officials had received similar invitations last week, also made the cut. So did Atlanta and Nashville.
Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter said he welcomes another broadband competitor to Charlotte.
“Competition is good,” he said. “The more service the better.”
Planning and design of the network begins this year, but construction isn’t expected to start until the first quarter or second quarter of next year, a City of Charlotte spokeswoman said.
Lo said it would take “many months” to complete the design work for the network but it would be premature to discuss construction start or finish dates. He said potential customers will be able to sign up for updates on the timing.
Improving access
Google Fiber, which is already in three cities, could mean a much faster Internet experience for consumers and small businesses in Charlotte.
The technology allows no-waiting downloads and uploads of big graphics, photos, videos and other large files that often strain current networks. Where basic broadband typically generates speeds of about 10 to 20 megabits per second, Google Fiber promises 1,000 megabits – or 1 gigabit – per second.
As an example, Lo said a geneticist in Provo, Utah, using Google Fiber can now download an entire genome in less than half an hour. It used to take 77 hours.
Following Google’s announcement last year, competitors Time Warner Cable and AT&T have also announced plans to deploy faster services.
Google hasn’t announced official prices for Charlotte. But Lo said he expects it to be similar to what the city is offering in Austin, Texas, and Kansas City, where the high-speed Internet service costs $70 per month.
Google also expects to have a combined TV and Internet package, Lo said. That costs between $120 and $130 per month in Kansas City and Austin, according to the company’s web site.
The company also has a “basic” offering that provides slower Internet speeds but no monthly fee. The only cost is a $300 “construction fee.”
That offering has caught the attention of Clodfelter as a way to improve access across the city.
“I’m particularly pleased that they are working hard on putting together this basic service package so that they’ll be able to bring affordable service into some of our neighborhoods that don’t have that,” Clodfelter said. “I hope as they continue to develop the roll-out of the program that we’ll see that becoming even more robust.”
Disruptions ahead
Lo said the company is not asking the city for any incentives or subsidies, calling the project “cost-neutral” to the city.
Phil Reiger, assistant director of Charlotte’s Department of Transportation, said the city’s right-of-way management group will have to add people to handle inspections and other tasks associated with the project. But the city has a system in which utilities cover the cost of inspections and reviews, he said.
The construction work will cause inconveniences, but he noted that utilities can’t close lanes during rush-hour periods. Much of the work will be done in planting strips, as opposed to under streets, he said.
“Our right-of-way management group will permit, coordinate and inspect all of this work,” he said. “They will do everything they can in their power to minimize the inconvenience and disruption that they can.”
Lo said Google has already been gathering information about local roads, utility paths and permitting processes. It’s next step is to create a detailed map of where it can put thousand of miles of fiber, using existing utility poles and underground conduits where possible.
After that, a team of surveyors and engineers will hit the streets to fill in more details. Google will hire local and national constructions crews to help with the construction, Lo said.
As it’s building out the network, Google divides the city into “Fiberhoods,” neighborhoods based on its design and engineering requirements, Reiger said. The company then asks consumers to pre-register and it brings the network to those areas that meet a certain threshold.
“Our intention is to serve every citizen in Charlotte,” Lo said. “So that means that we’re trying to find ways to get down every single street in order to provide this level of service.”
Lo acknowledged the disruptions that can come with such a large construction project while stressing the benefits of the new service over time.
“It is going to be disruptive but hopefully we can build this type of network quickly, smoothly and efficiently and thus minimize that level of disruption,” he said. “For the users, I think what’s really exciting is what you get at the back end of that: a brand new fiber-optic network that is world class and really what sets the stage for next 20 to 30 years.”