Palo Alto Prepares for Fiber Network

June 5, 2025 – The city of Palo Alto, Calif., moved closer to officially releasing its city-operated fiber network, a project in development since 2022. The city announced the network’s pricing and addressed expected market competition. 

In December 2022, the city of Palo Alto – a small city near San Francisco with a population of 64,000 and 26,000 households – launched a $102 million Fiber to the Home/Premises Project. The project came in response to the growing need for fast reliable networks, following increased internet demand accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project, to be completed through a series of phases, was approved for 194 miles of fiber-optic cable installation throughout the city of Palo Alto. The pilot phase, originally projected to reach 1,220 households throughout Greer Park in the Northeast region of Palo Alto in 2024, is now expected to be finalized in 2025.

As construction nears completion in Greer Park, city leaders addressed how the city’s fiber-optic network will compete with other internet providers in Palo Alto. The Greer Park region, where phase one is being completed, is already a highly competitive market for internet providers. Xfinity offers 1 Gigabit speeds for $70 per month. AT&T is offering similar rates.

Although the city announced its rate of $75 per month for 500 megabits per second, a rate similar to the other internet providers, city leaders advertised one major selling point: local services. 

“When you have a problem, just like with utilities, we’re going to be here to respond,” Palo Alto Director for Information Technology Darren Numoto said. “That’s really our only key differentiation we have. We’re not going to compete on technology, price or marketing with the big guys. Our primary goal is to invest in the community and offer reliable, affordable Internet for the entire community.”

The city hopes its fiber-optic network will succeed in the competitive market of Palo Alto internet providers.