Google Fiber’s plan to give free Internet to the poor
Source: Washington Post
February 3 at 11:00 AM
Google Fiber says it's going to give away its high speed Internet service to thousands of low-income Americans across the country who can't afford gigabit broadband. Starting with its Kansas City market, Google Fiber eventually plans to wire "select" public housing buildings in all of the cities where it operates, the company said.
Service will be switched on Wednesday for the West Bluff Townhomes community in Kansas City, Mo. Ultimately, as many as 1,300 households in Kansas City, Mo. and Kansas City, Kan. will get a free subscription to Google Fiber's 1,000 Mbps service, enabling those users to download the equivalent of an HD movie in about 7 seconds.
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Google Fiber already provides free service to low-income residents of Austin, Texas. But it doesn't offer them gigabit speeds, requiring those users to pay to upgrade to the next level. Wednesday's announcement takes things further by committing Google Fiber to providing its fastest service to some of America's poorest communities.
It's all part of a wider plan by the White House aimed at connecting the disconnected. Last summer, President Obama launched a pilot project known as ConnectHome that vowed to link 275,000 low-income households to the Internet. As part of that move, Google Fiber said it would selectively provide free broadband to certain public housing units. Wednesday's announcement reflects the company's follow-through on that promise.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/02/03/google-fibers-plan-to-give-free-internet-to-the-poor/
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