Google Fiber to launch service to first wave of Salt Lake City residents

Google Fiber to launch service to first wave of Salt Lake City residents

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SALT LAKE CITY — Google Fiber is now being offered to select Salt Lake City residents.

Wednesday morning, the company, along with Mayor Jackie Biskupski, announced that service will begin to residents and business owners in the central area of the city between 400 West and 1300 East from 100 South to 800 South, said Scott Tenney, city manager of Google Fiber.

Sign-ups for customers will begin immediately, he said. The announcement was made during a news conference at the Google Fiber store at Trolley Square.

This initial launch will make Salt Lake City the eighth city to "go live" with Google Fiber, the company website stated. Other cities include Provo, Atlanta, Austin, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Kansas City, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Nashville, Tennessee. While residents of the Central City neighborhood will have the first chance to enroll, others must wait while fiber installation work continues.

"Complete deployment" is expected to take several more months — into next year, Tenney said. "This is a major milestone. The city has been a great partner."

Among the local nonprofit partners already signed on are Spy Hop Productions, a digital media education center for youth in downtown Salt Lake City. Executive director Kasandra VerBrugghen said this launch could mark the beginning of access to advanced technology for residents citywide, no matter what their socioeconomic background.

"It evens the playing field a little bit and elevates (competition) between other providers," she said. "Google Fiber has a chance to be a good corporate citizen in our community and 'walk the walk' with all of their digital inclusion and work they have been doing locally and nationally."

In March 2015, Salt Lake City announced that it was among a number of U.S. cities to strike a deal with Google Fiber to bring high-speed internet service to city residents. Two years eariler, Provo announced it would become the third city in the nation at the time to have the ultrafast fiber-optic network to provide internet, as well as TV and telephone service.

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Pricing for residential internet service will start at $50 per month for 100 Mbps and $70 per month for gigabit service. Customers can also choose gigabit internet and Google TV for $140 monthly. While no long-term contracts are required, the $100 installation fee would be waived for single-family homeowners who sign up for one year, Tenney said. Multifamily residents are not required to pay for installation, he noted.

Additionally, small-business plans range from $70 for 100 Mbps, $100 for 250 Mbps and $250 per month for gigabit service. Residents can monitor progress and get more information about pricing and services offered at fiber.google.com/about.

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Jasen Lee

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