Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Web
  3. News

Google Fiber expands to Raleigh, N.C.

By

google fiber webpass expansion van
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Google hasn’t given up on expanding its Fiber high-speed internet service, it seems. On Wednesday, the company’s Fiber division lit up wires in Raleigh, North Carolina, coinciding with Google’s commitment to back service provided by Webpass, the gigabit internet service the search giant acquired in 2016.

Fiber, for the uninitiated, is a Google-owned internet service that delivers upload and download speeds of up to one gigabit per second. An optional package, Fiber TV, supplements the offering with local and premium cable channels. Costs range from $70 a month to $130, depending on the bundle.

Recommended Videos

Raleigh joins a growing list of metropolitan areas with Google’s high-speed Fiber service. It’s available in San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, Orange County, San Jose, and Los Angeles, California; Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio, Texas; Miami, Jacksonville, and Tampa, Florida; Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; Charlotte, North Carolina; Boston, Massachusetts; Huntsville, Alabama; Kansas City, Kansas; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta, Georgia; and The Triangle, Virginia.

Related

Rumors suggest Google will use Webpass, a small-time internet service provider (ISP) that operates a network of point-to-point wireless technologies, to expand its infrastructural footprint to dense urban centers where deploying fiber is cost prohibitive. At a recent shareholder’s meeting of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, Inc., Chairman Eric Schmidt unveiled plans to test in-house technology that would beam gigabit-speed internet into people’s homes. The impetus, he said, is twofold: resistance from incumbent cable companies, and the high costs associated with laying down fiber.

In Nashville, Fiber rivals Comcast and AT&T threatened to pursue legal action if the city’s Metro Council voted to allow Google to bring its own infrastructure into the town. AT&T sued to try to stop a similar law in Louisville, Kentucky. In the U.S., the cost of laying down fiber can be as high as $80,000 per mile.

Google’s Fiber immediate plans are in flux, though. Craig Barrett, former chief executive of Access, the Google subsidiary that oversees management of Fiber, stepped down from his roll to serve as an adviser. Google subsequently “paused” Fiber’s rollout and laid off employees in “certain areas of […] supporting operations.”

Google hasn’t let Fiber languish, though. It recently updated the Fiber TV mobile app with the ability to play and record TV shows, movies, and sports with a single tap. And FCC filings in August revealed tests of “experimental transmitters” on the gigahertz frequency capable of delivering high-speed internet over the air.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Kyle Wiggers
Kyle Wiggers
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
How to change margins in Google Docs
Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Read more
What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app
A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Read more
Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs
A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.

Read more