Google Fiber: Packages, Prices, and Reviews

Choosing an internet service provider after making a move to another city is at the top of any mover’s to-do list. Depending on what city you’re living in, Google’s Fiber internet and television services may be an excellent option. The Google Fiber product is among the best out there for true fiber internet service. Let’s take a closer look at where Google Fiber is available, and what it offers in terms of bundles and cost.

Google Fiber plans and pricing

Google entered the ISP competition with a lot of promises, advertising some of the fastest internet speeds of any internet service provider on the market. Here’s what they’re currently offering:

All Google Fiber plans come with unlimited data and no contracts. That means you can cancel your service at any point without getting hit with early termination fees.

WEBPASS

If you can’t get Google Fiber at your address, you may still have access to something called “Google Fiber Webpass.” This service is aimed at larger apartment buildings where Google Fiber isn’t available. Webpass installs an antenna on the roof of the building and beams internet directly into each unit wirelessly. Speeds vary by each building, but it’s generally not quite as fast as Google Fiber — but still plenty for an apartment.

Where is Google Fiber available?

Unfortunately, Google Fiber isn’t in every city just yet. The good news is that Google Fiber has a pretty solid foothold in almost every other region of the continental United States, and it’s planning to expand to Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Idaho in the next several years.

Right now, Google has deployed its services to the following U.S. cities and metropolitan areas:

1. Atlanta, GA
2. Austin, TX
3. Charlotte, NC
4. Huntsville, AL
5. Kansas City, KS/MO
6. Nashville, TN
7. Orange County, CA
8. Provo, UT
9. San Antonio, TX
10. Salt Lake City, UT
11. The Triangle, NC (Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh)
12. West Des Moines, IA (Coming soon)

There are also a number of these metro areas that are WEBPASS cities. WEBPASS is a Google affiliate that offers Google Fiber service on a no-contract basis. Out of the metro areas listed above, these are WEBPASS cities:

• Chicago, IL
• Denver, CO
• Miami, FL
• Oakland, CA
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA

As Google extends its reach into new urban areas, odds are that there will be a mix of Google Fiber cities and WEBPASS cities. Those designations hinge on the success of the service being deployed to the cities mentioned above. Let’s take a look at the services that Google and its affiliates offer in these cities.

Google Fiber reviews

Moving to any of the cities that have Google Fiber as an internet provider is exciting, but there are some caveats to all of the positive reviews we’ve heard about the products. The first concern for both current and prospective consumers is that the actual service hasn’t been fully deployed in the areas where Google advertises coverage.

There are a number of examples of initial rollouts of Google Fiber taking place in a given metro area, only to be delayed or stopped before full coverage in that region has taken place. In some areas, a different rollout strategy to get services sooner to consumers failed, as was the case in the Louisville metro area. The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill metro area (commonly known as the Triangle) is also dealing with an incomplete deployment of Google services, resulting in a number of unhappy prospective customers.

In the neighborhoods where Google Fiber has been established, it’s a worthy competitor to other traditional ISPs. But there’s also the greater issue of Google Fiber having difficulty gaining a foothold in city markets where Verizon, Comcast, and other providers are already established. Residents of New York City, Washington, DC, and other larger hubs on the eastern seaboard are still waiting for Google to make inroads.

Even though Google has had its fair share of growing pains deploying the next generation of blazing-fast broadband services, it’s provided those that have access to the platform with the unparalleled internet speed and flexibility that comes with gigabit connectivity to the internet. If you’re moving to any of the areas that Google has the service established in, it’s well worth the time to consider Google’s offerings for yourself.

Pros and cons of Google Fiber

Pros

• Extremely fast, state-of-the-art, broadband internet service.
• No data caps for usage.
• WEBPASS and a no-contract ISP option in urban areas that have WEBPASS affiliate service.
• Offers a competitive ISP alternative to both national and regional internet service providers in metro areas that have the service.

Cons

• Google Fiber isn’t available in some large metro areas (Washington D.C./Metro, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, etc.)
• There are no plans for rural expansion in cities that have WEBPASS as the primary provider of Google Fiber service.
• There have been delays in expanding coverage in some existing Google Fiber markets.