Google Inc. said it will bring its Google Fiber broadband Internet service to Provo, Utah, the third U.S. city slated for the program, as the company steps up plans to expand speedy online access to consumers.
The Mountain View, California-based company has signed an agreement to purchase iProvo, an existing fiber-optic network owned by the city, Kevin Lo, general manager at Google Fiber, said in a blog post today. Google, whose plan needs approval by the city council at a vote scheduled for next week, aims to upgrade and finish construction of the network, which will deliver speeds of 1 gigabit per second.
The owner of the world’s most popular search engine is pushing out high-speed broadband services that could attract more users to its own online features where it makes money from advertising. In choosing Provo, Google touted the city’s business-friendly environment and its technology companies, include family-research site Ancestry.com Inc.
“We believe the future of the Internet will be built on gigabit speeds, and we’re sure the businesses and residents of Provo already have some good ideas for what they’d build with a gig,” Lo said in the blog.
The company already has announced plans to introduce broadband and TV service in Kansas City, Kansas, and Austin, Texas.
The city of Provo began construction on the municipal network in 2004, Google said. In 2011, the city started looking for a partner that could acquire the system and provide “affordable service” to residents, the company said.
The Provo deal is the first time Google plans to acquire an existing fiber-optic system. The city of 115,000 created the fiber-optic network, iProvo, in 2004. It planned to operate the system itself for Internet, television and phone service but found the operation too daunting and turned it over to a succession of private partners that have struggled to break even.
A Google official said the company will offer basic Internet service at no charge to Provo residents, who can opt to pay for service up to 200 times faster. The system also provides cable or satellite TV service.
“Once connected, Provo will be one of the first cities in the world where access to broadband will flow like water or electricity,” Kevin Lo, general manager of Google Fiber, said Wednesday.
The rollout is an expensive undertaking and gamble for Google, which hopes it will drive innovation and pressure phone and cable companies to improve their networks. Google benefits when people spend more time online.
Provo officials said Google will charge customers a $30 activation fee. The free service provides speeds of 5 megabits per second. Google didn’t say how much it planned to charge for faster service, but it would hook up schools, hospitals and libraries to the faster service at no charge.
In Kansas City, Google charges customers $70 a month for a gigabit connection, which is 1,000 megabits per second. For another $50, customers there can also receive a cable TV-like service that offers a channel lineup featuring mainstays such as ESPN, Nickelodeon, FOX News and MTV, as well as HBO and Cinemax.
Google said more than 1,100 cities applied for its services starting in 2010, and some used gimmicks or elaborate videos in hopes of outshining the competition. Topeka, Kan., even informally renamed itself “Google, Kansas.”
Kansas City wound up prevailing, and Google began signing up residents there last year. By the end of 2013, Google expects that 180 neighborhoods that were selected for service based on demand will be completed.
The $70 fee in Kansas City is more than what cable or phone companies charge for basic Internet service, but the service is also much faster. Gigabit speeds are generally unavailable from other companies. One exception is the city-owned electric utility in Chattanooga, Tenn., which has pulled its own fiber and sells gigabit service for $350 per month.
Provo, about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City, is home to Brigham Young University, which is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is where LDS missionaries are trained for service.
Provo’s fiber-optic system is currently connected to only 9,000 of 35,000 homes, and Google said it would finish the work and upgrade the system to handle more traffic at higher speeds.
It will cost Google at least $18 million to build out the system, said Val Hale, president of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce. Google didn’t offer any figures of its own.
Provo’s fiber-optic lines already run under streets. Making a connection from street to home costs $700, chamber officials said. They said Google’s free basic Internet service will save households about $30 a month.
Provo Mayor John Curtis was elated. He noted the city was seeking yet another buyer for the fiber-optic system when he approached Google about taking it over.
“When I came into office, iProvo was deemed to be the single biggest problem facing Provo,” Curtis said. “The first step was to address the outstanding bond on the network, which we’ve done. Now, we’re able to realize the dream of providing reliable access.”
(The AP and Bloomberg contributed to this report.)
