Provo residents can rest assured known that Google Fiber is indeed coming soon to increase Internet speeds and make life on the internet just a little easier.
The deal for Google to buy Provo’s fiber-optic network was finalized in late July. Mayor John Curtis said he has been working very closely with Google and that after ironing out the details, residents can expect more details from Google coming soon.
“It’s been an adventure and our internal team has worked extremely hard alongside Google Fiber’s to jump the last few hurdles and get the city ready for the significant upgrades about to take place,” Curtis said.
As part of the deal, Google committed to upgrade the network, formerly known as iProvo, to gigabit technology and finish the construction of the network. Google’s plan is for every home attached to the original iProvo network to connect to Google Fiber.
Google has also promised to provide free Internet service to twenty-five local public institutions, such as schools, hospitals and libraries.
Daniel Follett, assistant finance director for Provo, has been working with Google for the last year to bring Google Fiber to the city. He said Google has been very helpful and they hope to have the first customers hooked up as early as October.
“This will be really good for the city and the residents because Google has been so involved,” Follett said.
Construction has already begun on the network and Google will continue to work on the upgrades over the next few months.
Residents first began to look forward to having Google Fiber in April after waiting weeks for Mayor Curtis’ “epic announcement” that Provo would be the third city in the world to receive the service.
Kansas City, Kan. and Austin, Tex. are the only other cities to pilot Google Fiber, which the company says runs internet speeds close to one hundred times faster than that of most broadband networks. Provo officials recently visited Kansas City to see the effects Google Fiber has had on the city.
Provo is already an area of strong economic growth, and city official have said Google Fiber is expected to bring in more businesses and entrepreneurs.
Provo also has an advantage over Kansas City and Austin in that a large portion of the city is already connected to a previous fiber-optic network. This means that once Google Fiber is ready, residents can immediately have access to it, if they choose.
“These changes will without a doubt transform our community and the way we operate in it,” Mayor Curtis said. “Having this resource come to Provo is less than a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we want to be ready.”
