Five Years After ‘Think Big With a Gig,’ Google Fiber No Longer The Only Major Gigabit Player

February 3, 2015 - In announcing last week that it was expanding Google Fiber to four new metropolitan areas in the Southeastern United States, the search engine giant-turned-internet service provider emphasized multiple initiatives toward Gigabit Networks.

On January 27, Google announced that nearly five years after it announced its "Think Big With a Gig" campaign, it would expand its footprint beyond the troika of metropolitan areas it currently serves: Kansas City, Austin and Provo, Utah.

The company will build Gigabit Networks in 18 new cities within four new metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham.

In a blog post, the company wrote:

Bringing Google Fiber to these cities is a long-term investment. We’ve been working closely with city leaders over the past year on a joint planning process to get their communities ready for Google Fiber—and now the really hard work begins. Our next step is to work with cities to create a detailed map of where we can put our thousands of miles of fiber, using existing infrastructure such as utility poles and underground conduit, and making sure to avoid things like gas and water lines. Then a team of surveyors and engineers will hit the streets to fill in missing details. Once we’re done designing the network (which we expect to wrap up in a few months), we’ll start construction.

In the post, by Google Fiber Vice President Dennis Kish, the company also wrote:

Today, we aren't the only ones talking about gigabit broadband. From the White House to main street, a chorus of new voices is standing up for speed. Just last week during the State of the Union, the President called for faster networks so that innovators and entrepreneurs can build the next big idea. New research from the Fiber to the Home Council shows gigabit networks are contributing billions of dollars in economic growth. Communities across America are demanding more speed for their own homes and businesses, and we’re going to keep doing our part to help.

The nationwide "Think Big With a Gig" campaign -- announced on February 10, 2010 - stimulated widespread interest in Gigabit-level connectivity, prompting more than 1,000 cities to apply to the company to build super-high-speed connectivity.

The company said it is continuing to explore bringing fiber to the metropolitan areas of Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and San Jose.