Google plans to wire 180 fiberhoods by fall 2013, start next month in KCK

The final tally from the Google Fiber rally is in. Google this afternoon announced that 180 “fiberhoods” in Kansas City, Kan. and Kansas City, Mo. will be wired for its new, ultra high-speed internet service. The Hanover Heights fiberhood in Kansas City, Kan. is …

Hanover Heights in Kansas City, Kan. is the first fiberhood scheduled to be wired for Google Fiber, reportedly sometime in October. 

The final tally from the Google Fiber rally is in. Google this afternoon announced that 180 “fiberhoods” in Kansas City, Kan. and Kansas City, Mo. will be wired for its new, ultra high-speed internet service. 

The Hanover Heights fiberhood in Kansas City, Kan. is first in line for Fiber. It’s scheduled to be connected in October. A total of seven fiberhoods, all on the Kansas side of the state line, are slated for connection by the end of winter. Google projects that all 69 Kansas fiberhoods that qualified will have service by fall 2013.

Crown Center is the first Kansas City, Mo. fiberhood scheduled for Fiber and one of eight Missouri fiberhoods in total expected to get service next spring. The schedule calls for all 111 Missouri fiberhoods to be wired by next fall.

But that schedule, Google emphasized, is subject to change.

“It’s important to note that our construction schedule isn’t set in stone — many factors, such as a harsh winter, may affect timing,” Kevin Lo, the project’s general manager, wrote in a blog post announcing the timeline. “But we plan to be as transparent as possible if our estimates change, and we’ll post any new information on our website.”

Hanover Heights qualified for Fiber within two hours of Google’s July Fiber announcement and wound up pre-registering the highest percentage of households (56) of any fiberhood west of State Line Road.

In total, Lo said, the first wave of Fiber installations will make the high-speed network available to 89 percent of residents in Kansas City, Kan. and central Kansas City, Mo. No timeline has been announced for expansion beyond those parts of the metro area, although North Kansas City, South Kansas City, Westwood, Westwood Hills and Mission Woods are all listed as “coming next” on Google Fiber’s website.

Lo said Google is excited by the potential that Fiber’s one-gigabit speed represents for Kansas Citians. “We fully expect that gigabit speeds will lead to a wave of online innovation,” he said, “led by Kansas City.”

Residents of qualifying fiberhoods can now register online for one of Google Fiber’s three residential plans

 

Credits: Screenshot from fiber.google.com.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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