What just happened? Google is rolling out a new high-speed fiber Internet tier in select regions that'll offer blazing fast symmetrical upload and download speeds. Google's new 5 Gig Internet service is launching in West Des Moines, Kansas City, and the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The search giant put out an open call for trusted testers back in October to trial its 5 Gig and 8 Gig fiber products.
The 5 Gig offering comes with a Wi-Fi 6 router, up to two mesh extenders and professional installation for $125 per month. The bundle also includes installation of a 10 Gig fiber jack so users will be set up for even higher speeds down the road.
Nick Saporito, head of multi-gig and commercial product at Google, said the new service is designed to handle the demands of heavy Internet users including creative professionals that work in the cloud or with large files as well as households with many Internet users.
In its post from October, Google was also seeking testers for its 8 Gig Internet service. Saporito confirmed that service is still "on the horizon" but didn't give a timeline as to when it might be available. In the first post, Google said the 8 Gig service would retail for $150 per month.
Google is not the only ISP to offer fiber to the home, nor is it the only one working on super-fast solutions. 1 Gig fiber products are semi-common in many parts of the country and others like Optimum are building out their network to support 5 Gig packages. A quick check over on Frontier's website shows they also have a 5 Gig product available in select areas. Interested parties can plug in their address to check availability.
5 Gig is going to be overkill for most homes right now but it is still nice that the option exists at a reasonable price. Services like these also pave the way for future innovations that seem absolutely bonkers right now.
Image credit: Brett Sayles
https://www.techspot.com/news/97618-google-launches-5-gig-internet-service-three-cities.html
