What’s happening
Google Fiber, which already features 1-gig and 2-gig speed tiers, has reached 20 gigs in its most recent field test in Kansas City.
Why it matters
The year 2022 has seen a bit of an arms race regarding internet speeds. AT&T Fiber, Frontier and Ziply Fiber announced new multi-gigabit plans earlier in the year, and it would appear that even-faster plans are in the works.
Like a 21st-century version of Paul Revere, Google Fiber CEO Dinni Jain announced Tuesday via blog post that 20 gigs is coming, 20 gigs is coming. The company achieved a 20.2Gbps download speed in a field test in Kansas City, one of a handful of Google Fiber locations across the country (including Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and a dozen other cities).
Google Fiber currently offers two plan options: 1-gigabit download speeds for $70 per month and a 2-gig plan for $100 monthly. The 2-gig option is currently the cheapest 2Gbps plan among major internet providers: AT&T Fiber’s 2Gbps tier is $110, Verizon Fios and Ziply Fiber feature plans at $120, and Frontier’s Fiber 2-gig is $150.
Regarding speed, the fastest residential plan in the US currently belongs to EPB, a telecom in Chattanooga, Tennessee. EPB announced a 25Gbps speed tier in late August that costs $1,500 per month. So, what sort of price point should we expect from Google Fiber?
CNET reached out to a Google Fiber spokesperson, and we’re told that more information will be on the way in the coming weeks, but there’s no word yet on pricing or when to expect the plan to be available to customers. However, according to Google Fiber’s CEO, in the blog post, 20Gbps is just the beginning.
“In the coming months, we’ll have announcements to dramatically expand our multi-gigabit tiers. These will be critical milestones on our journey to 100 Gig symmetrical internet,” Jain said.
CNET will keep you posted as further updates are revealed.
