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Google Fiber: Dallas Becomes Potential Location, Here’s Why

By Chris Crum
Published on: 07:16 PST, Jun 15, 2016

Google Fiber in Dallas may soon be a reality, as Google announced that it has begun exploring the possibility of bringing the service to the city, which would be its third in the Lone Star State after Austin and San Antonio. The latter is currently in the works.

As of right now, Google Fiber cities include: Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Kansas City (MO and KS), Nashville, and Provo. Upcoming Fiber cities include: Huntsville, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and San Francisco. Cities Google is currently considering to be potential Fiber cities are Dallas, Chicago, Irvine, Los Angeles, Jacksonville, Louisville, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Jose, and Tampa.

“If we’re able to bring Google Fiber to Dallas, it will mean more than a reliable connection,” says Jill Szuchmacher, Director of Expansion, on the Google Fiber blog. “It will mean new ways for families to stay in touch and stream their favorite shows, and new opportunities for businesses—especially businesses in Dallas’ budding tech sector—to grow and be more productive. With Fiber, businesses can download files in seconds rather than hours, communicate faster with customers, and much more. Dallas is already one of the best cities to work in tech. Google Fiber will help Dallas attract even more tech talent, and push the city further toward the future.”

“Bringing Google Fiber to Dallas would be a huge undertaking, so we want to make sure we’re prepared,” she adds. “Working alongside Mayor Mike Rawlings and local leaders, we’ll use our Fiber checklist to learn more about local topography, existing infrastructure, and other factors that may impact construction. Building a fiber optic network through a dense and complex urban environment like Dallas is challenging—these discussions will help us deploy our network efficiently and responsibly. ”

The Dallas Morning News reports that the company wants Google Fiber in Dallas because it has one of the strongest job growth rates in the United States, and says that, while Google can’t predict how long it will take to figure out if they’ll be moving forward with Fiber in Dallas, it took them about 17 months to do so with San Antonio. While it’s still unclear when people will have access to it in that city, construction finally began for it this past April.

As Engadget notes, Google Fiber Dallas would have competition from AT&T, which already offers its GigaPower fiber internet service in some parts, and plans to bring more fiber service to southern Dallas.

Google recently cited a study finding that “fast and reliable broadband” is now rated the most important amenity for multiple dwelling units (over a pool, 24-hour security monitoring, covered parking, gym access and cable television) and that residents are willing to pay more to live where there’s fiber.

For those waiting to get access to Google Fiber, the news seems to be coming at a slow pace, but in reality, Google has made a number of related announcements so far this year ahead of its Google Fiber Dallas news. Earlier this month, it announced the addition of Google Cast to its Fiber Boxes. In March, it announced its Google Fiber Phone offering to give customers home phone service. The Huntsville announcement came the month prior as did the announcement of an expansion of Google Fiber’s work in public housing. Exploration plans for Chicago and Los Angeles were announced at the end of last year.

There is, no doubt, still plenty of room for Google Fiber to grow and certainly plenty of demand for it across the country. Google Fiber Dallas updates will come to your inbox if you sign up for them from the Google Fiber website.

[Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]

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