People love Google Fiber. The lightning-fast yet shockingly affordable Google broadband service covers a small fraction of 1% of American households, but consumers across the nation are clamoring for it. For those somehow still unaware, Google Fiber offers completely free 5Mbps broadband service to households in the two U.S. cities in which it is offered, or 1Gbps service for just $70 per month. To get an idea of how great that package is, I pay $60 per month for 30/5Mbps service (30Mbps download, 5Mbps upload) from Time Warner Cable.
Now, it looks like people will soon have yet another reason to love Google Fiber: Free public WiFi.
Documents obtained by IDG News Service suggest that Google is indeed considering deploying public WiFi networks in the cities covered by Google Fiber. The documents discussing the plans were reportedly sent to regulators in each of the 34 cities Google is currently considering as future Fiber markets.
Specific plans were not disclosed, but Google says it will be “discussing our Wi-Fi plans and related requirements with your city as we move forward with your city during this planning process.”
Beyond simply having access to fast, free WiFi in cities that might eventually be covered by Google Fiber, here’s another reason to get excited: Google’s WiFi plans might be part of a larger scheme to finally give U.S. wireless carriers something to fear.
