Google Fiber’s clash with Comcast and CenturyLink in Provo, Utah, is about to get a bit louder amid word that Google has expanded the sign-up sheet for its mix of broadband and subscription video services.
Google Fiber acquired the iProvo network last July in exchange for $1 and promises to upgrade the network and complete the rollout. Google Fiber began to connect customers of Veracity Networks, the provider that sold services on the original iProvo network, last November.
Google Fiber is now getting ready to extend services to other consumers who live along the former iProvo network. Customers in those areas are now free to sign up for one of three Google Fiber service options:
- 1-Gbps broadband for $70 per month
- 1-Gig plus a package of TV services, including a souped up HD-DVR that can record up to eight shows at once, starting at $120 per month
- A free Internet service (5 Mbps down by 1 Mbps upstream) in exchange for a one-time $30 installation fee. As part of its contract with the city, Google Fiber has pledged to offer that tier for free for at least seven years.
Similar to its Kansas City deployment, Google Fiber has divided Provo into distinct “fiberhoods” and will install and launch services in waves.
Adding a layer of pressure, Google Fiber has also factored in sign-up deadlines for each fiberhood, noting that it has no current plans to re-open fiberhood signs-ups. But time will tell if that’s an empty threat, as Google Fiber did re-open sign-ups to about 180 fiberhoods in Kansas City late last year.
First in line in Provo is North Park, which has a sign-up deadline of February 20, followed by Downtown Provo (March 6), and Pioneer/West Provo (March 27). Google Fiber will open up sign-ups in Grandview this spring, and in North Provo, Southeast Provo and the Foothills fiberhood sometime this summer.
For consumers who are still getting service from Veracity Networks, Google Fiber has set a new sign-up deadline of February 28, John Richards, head of operations for Google Fiber in Provo, noted in this blog post.
Comcast has yet to announce a formal competitive response to Google Fiber’s entry into Provo, but it is reportedly readying a new broadband service that will deliver speeds of up to 250 Mbps downstream and 50 Mbps upstream for $80 per month. The MSO is also expected to blunt Google Fiber’s charge with new triple- and double-play service bundles.
Comcast's current, fastest residential DOCSIS service in Provo delivers downstream bursts up to 105 Mbps.
Google Fiber is also preparing to connect homes to a 1-Gig network in Austin, Texas, by mid-2014.
