Google Fiber Talking to 34 Cities About Expansion Plans

Will the 1 Gig pressure on cable increase with Google announcing Thurs that it has invited 34 cities to work with it to explore possible Google Fiber launches. So, far Google Fiber has projects only in Kansas City, Austin and Provo, UT. But this latest news has the potential to bring the service to 9 metro areas: Portland, San Jose, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, San Antonio, Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham.

“We aim to provide updates by the end of the year about which cities will be getting Google Fiber,” read a Google blog post. “Between now and then, we’ll work closely with each city’s leaders on a joint planning process that will not only map out a Google Fiber network in detail, but also assess what unique local challenges we might face.”

While some have dismissed Google Fiber as an experiment, Bernstein analysts said they believe it will likely be profitable and generate highly attractive internal rates of return. “We have very high conviction, based in large part on our experience working for the Chairman of the FCC and knowledge of Google, that the view that this is some sort of ploy to influence regulators and policy makers is totally misguided. And we think that the short cut that says ‘all over-builders failed and hence Google will fail’ is fallacious as Google is following a fundamentally different marketing, service, and deployment strategy and has assets and capabilities that over-builders did not have,” the analysts wrote in a research note.

Google cautioned that while it wants to bring service to all 34 cities, it might now work out for everyone. So, it plans to share whatever in learns in these cities, which could help others build a fiber network.