Google Fiber re-thinks plans as it considers wireless alternative

Wireless could help Google Fiber avoid fights with incumbents over pole access.
Google Fiber was planning to install fiber lines in San Jose starting last month, but has delayed the project while it considers a wireless alternative, according to a report today in the San Jose Mercury News.

Google Fiber recently announced plans to purchase Webpass, a company that uses point-to-point wireless technology to offer speeds up to 1Gbps, the same as Google's fiber-to-the-home network. San Jose may not be the only city where Google Fiber re-thinks current plans as a result of its newfound wireless capabilities. The Webpass purchase is expected to be completed this summer.

"Google Fiber is already up and running in seven other major cities, outside California, but a source familiar with the project says the company is putting additional fiber locations on the back burner to reassess the technology and explore a cheaper alternative—wireless service that does not require expensive, capital-intensive and time-consuming installation of fiber cables under the ground," the Mercury News reported. "The source said Google is now focusing more on aerial installation."

Google Fiber has been talking with San Jose city officials about a deployment for more than two years.

Webpass's wireless technology is better suited to multi-unit residential buildings than single-family homes. But it could speed Google Fiber deployment, which has also stalled in other cities where Google must negotiate access to utility poles owned by the incumbent ISPs against which it's trying to compete. The Webpass network relies on antennas and receivers placed on top of high buildings.

In San Jose, Google Fiber was very close to starting construction. "The company was set to begin digging in San Jose last month, but nearly 100 employees hired to install Google Fiber were pulled into an office and told the project was being delayed, according to workers. They were offered a transfer to San Diego to work on an unrelated project," the Mercury News report said.

Officials in nearby Mountain View and Palo Alto were also talking to Google Fiber about bringing the high-speed Internet service to their cities, but they say Google told them the project has been delayed. Mountain View public works director Mike Fuller called the delay a "surprise... because we were working on what was their plan at the time." A San Jose city spokesperson said they remain optimistic that Google Fiber will offer service "even if their original schedule gets modified so they can take advantage of technology advances that might be potentially less disruptive."

Palo Alto city staff wrote a report that said deployment of Google Fiber is delayed "up to six months or more" while the company "explor[es] more innovative ways of deployment that overcome some of the challenges they are facing in their current builds."

We contacted Google for more information this morning but haven't heard back yet. A Google Fiber spokesperson told the Mercury News that it is continuing talks with Silicon Valley-area cities about deploying Internet service. But it "takes time" to deploy "the latest technologies in alignment with our product road map, while understanding local considerations and challenges," the spokesperson said.

UPDATE: Google replied to Ars, saying it has no specific timelines to share but that it's "business as usual in our existing cities."

Google Fiber is already available in Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Provo, Utah. Google lists San Jose as a "potential" fiber market, along with 11 others, and says it has definite plans to build in another five markets.