After months of anticipation, Google announced today that it will open up signups for its gigabit-speed Google Fiber Internet service in December, starting with neighborhoods in South and Southeast Austin.
“We can only launch one seventh of the city at the time,” Mark Strama, head of Google Fiber’s Austin operations, said of the slow rollout. “The network will include 3000 miles of new fiber optic cables. It’s like going to Canada and back.”
According to Strama, new users that live in South and Southeast Austin can signup for Google Fiber by the end of the year. The company says the process is taking longer because the fiber network had to be planned and designed from scratch.
The ultra-fast Internet service purportedly offers speeds more than 100 times faster than many connections available now, allowing customers to download 25 songs in 1 second or a high-definition movie in less than 36 seconds, Google says.
and will have tiered plans for Internet and television service.
Existing internet providers AT&T and Grande Communications have already rolled out their own gigabit service in limited areas across Austin.
Last week, Google also unveiled an interactive map of eligible service areas in apartments and condominiums across the city that will have access to the service after the rollout in South Austin.
Google officials didn’t reveal yet any dates for the high speed Internet signups in other areas of Austin.
