Google Fiber planning major expansion to San Jose, 33 other cities

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google may bring blazing fast Internet known as Google Fiber to millions more people in San Jose and 33 other cities across the country as early as next year under a plan the Internet giant unveiled Wednesday.

Google is discussing building and operating optical fiber networks in Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City; San Antonio; Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; and neighboring towns. Among those lucky towns in the Bay Area: Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. Google did not announce any locations in Southern California.

Google Fiber has captured the public’s imagination because it delivers downloads up to 100 times faster than typical consumer Internet service and that are far faster than even the top speeds offered by cable providers such as Comcast.

Google is pushing for fast Internet to be ubiquitous in the U.S. at a time when the market is controlled by the two largest cable operators, Comcast and Time Warner. For now it’s pushing into nine metropolitan areas.

The Internet giant has said that it plans to expand Google Fiber and that it expects the service to be profitable.

Google began delivering fiber service to people in Kansas City, Mo., in 2012. It charges $70 a month for a 1-gigabit connection. It has since expanded the service to Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah.

The cities were chosen from the more than 1,000 that submitted applications four years ago when Google first announced its plans for Google Fiber.

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