Google Fiber makes expansion plans for $60 wireless gigabit service
As Google Fiber scales back fiber builds, signs point to wireless expansion.
Google Fiber's new wireless Internet division is apparently ready to expand. The company's Webpass subsidiary says in a job listing that it is "searching for a General Manager to launch our Seattle market." The new GM will be "directly responsible for the growth of our local telecom network and revenue" and will oversee construction and installation schedules.
Webpass, which offers up to 1Gbps upload and download speeds for $60 a month and without data caps, was purchased by Google Fiber in October 2016 and already sells wireless home Internet service in Boston, Chicago, Miami, San Diego, Oakland, and San Francisco. (Advertised speeds are anywhere from 100Mbps to 1Gbps, depending on location.) GeekWire, which wrote about the Webpass job listing yesterday, notes that the plan "would bring Google’s wireless option to Seattle’s dense urban center where creating a new physical fiber network can be expensive and impractical."
Google Fiber is known primarily for its fiber-to-the-home service that it offers in nine metro areas. But the Alphabet-owned ISP recently decided to reduce its staff and "pause" fiber operations in 10 cities where it hadn't fully committed to building. Fiber deployments are still planned for a few cities where Google Fiber had committed to building, namely Huntsville, Alabama; San Antonio, Texas; and Louisville, Kentucky. Another planned deployment in Irvine, California, which Google Fiber had described as definitely moving forward, was then canceled. San Francisco was also previously slated to get fiber, but it will have to make do with Webpass wireless.
Google Fiber's problems include the cost of construction and lawsuits filed by AT&T, Comcast, and Charter, which have sought to stop new ordinances in Louisville and Nashville that gave Google Fiber faster access to utility poles.
Webpass provides high-speed home Internet service with a point-to-point wireless technology utilizing antennas on building rooftops. In the home, Internet access is provided via standard Ethernet cable. While this doesn't require installing fiber throughout cities, Webpass has focused on connecting businesses and multi-unit residential buildings in densely populated areas. It hasn't been financially feasible to deploy Webpass to single-family homes, so it can't fully replace Google Fiber's wired Internet service. Webpass said in a recent blog post that customers in its six metro areas "may be eligible to use Webpass if their building has at least 10 units."
It's not clear when the Seattle launch will occur or whether Webpass is planning deployments in other cities. We've asked the Google Fiber and Webpass press offices about that and will provide an update if we get one.
