Skip to main content

Google brings free Fiber Internet to low-income households

Fiber TV box
Image used with permission by copyright holder
There are no solar-powered drones or balloons involved in this plan to deliver Internet, but it may just be Google’s best yet. On Wednesday, the Silicon Valley behemoth announced its plan to bring free Google Fiber to those who need it most: low-income Americans who currently have little to no access to the Internet. Last summer, the tech company promised to bring some 275,000 households online in conjunction with the White House’s ConnectHome initiative. And now, that process has begun with 100 homes in the West Bluff public housing complex located in Kansas City. Each of these 100 households was given a free Google Fiber connection, an achievement made possible with the company’s collaboration with the Housing Authority of Kansas City.

The importance of having an Internet connection has long been heralded by the Obama administration, especially in terms of education. Having this basic access can mean more “after-school programs and STEM classes, more students going online to finish their homework, more people taking advantage of resources like Khan Academy, and more families learning basic computer skills that help them be more connected,” Google said in an official blog post announcement. And with its free extremely high-speed Internet connection, the web company is helping bring more and more people into the 21st century.

In the last couple months, the U.S. has been panned for its failure to deliver decent Internet service to many of its citizens, as well as the wide discrepancy in coverage that exists among different geographies and demographics.

“The U.S. has some of the most expensive broadband in the world, while lagging far behind other countries in Internet speeds,” Google notes. “And for families in affordable housing, cost can be one of the biggest barriers to getting online.”

But moving forward, the tech giant plans to make great strides in narrowing this problematic gap. Google says it plans to “bring gigabit Internet to select affordable housing in all of our Fiber cities,” and further notes that it’ll be “complementing this $0/month Internet service by working with local partners to make new investments in computer labs and digital literacy classes so residents learn the skills they need to get online.”

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Frontier brings 2-gigabit fiber plan to its Wi-Fi network
2622788 the best internet switches 20internet switch

Frontier Communications is bringing faster home broadband speeds to all customers in its service area. In a bid to compete against rivals, including AT&T with its recent hyper-gigabit service plans, Frontier is now deploying a new symmetrical 2Gbps fiber service.

Frontier notes that it is the first major internet service provider (ISP) to launch network-wide multi-gig fiber speeds while other providers are still deploying fiber to select residents living in very specific fiber footprints.

Read more
Google brings powerful features to Samsung Galaxy S22 and Tab S8
Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus size difference.

Alongside the debut of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Tab S8 at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event today, Google is highlighting several powerful new features that it’s bringing to Samsung’s latest flagship devices.

Since the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Tab S8 naturally come with Android 12, they’ll be able to benefit from the latest enhancements and design features in Google’s mobile operating system, but that’s not all. Google is also adding an enhanced Live Sharing feature to Google Duo for Samsung’s latest smartphones and tablets, plus built-in Voice Access and more.

Read more
AT&T becomes ‘un-ISP’ of fiber internet with Hypergig plans
AT&T Storefront with logo.

Taking a cue from T-Mobile's un-carrier playbook for wireless, AT&T is aiming to bring simplicity, reliability, and affordability to its new multi-gigabit home broadband internet plans. With pricing transparency, AT&T is promising no hidden fees for its faster 2Gbps and 5Gbps fiber internet plans for homes and businesses, which the carrier dubbed as Hypergig. The "un-ISP's" new plans will now cover nearly 5.2 million customers in more than 70 metropolitan areas, and AT&T hopes to expand its coverage to more than 30 million customers by the end of 2025.

"Starting today, we’re rolling out straightforward pricing across our consumer AT&T Fiber portfolio," AT&T said of its new ISP plans for fiber customers. "For new customers, this means no equipment fees, no annual contract, no data caps, and no price increase at 12 months — just the fastest internet, plus AT&T ActiveArmor internet security, next-gen Wi-Fi, and HBO Max included on our fastest speed plans at no additional cost."

Read more