Google Fiber nixes free Internet offering in Kansas City
April 11, 2016 | Bobby Burch
It’s often said there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
And in Google’s case, there’s no such thing a free fiber connection — at least anymore.
The tech titan last week nixed its free Internet offering, which dished out download speeds of 5 megabits-per-second and upload speeds of 1 mbps. Google has offered the free service — which required a one-time $300 construction fee — since its expansion into Kansas City about four years ago.
The company, based in Mountain View, Calif., replaced the free offering with a $50 per month plan that offers 100 megabits per second. The plan has no data caps, but doesn’t include added features of the pricer gigabit plans such as 1 terabyte of cloud storage with Google Drive or Gmail.
Google Fiber recently celebrated the five year anniversary of when it first announced that the service would be coming to Kansas City.
Google in March announced that it would be offering “fiber phone” service in its fiber cities, which includes Kansas City, Kan., Kansas City, Mo., Provo, Utah and Austin, Texas. The service — which provides unlimited local and nationwide calling — costs $10 per month.
Google is now expanding its fiber service into several other cities, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City and San Antonio.
Google will continue to offer free Internet access to people in affordable housing developments without construction or equipment fees, according to ARS Technica.
In February, Google Fiber began working with the Housing Authority of Kansas City to connect its super-fast, gigabit connection to residents of local public housing properties for free. Google launched the program at West Bluff Townhomes in Kansas City, Mo., connecting all 100 homes to its service. Through Google’s partnership with ConnectHome, a federal initiative to speed Internet adoption by families living in public housing, families who sign up for access may also purchase discounted devices and learn new computer skills.
Featured Business
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
MidxMidwest returns: Seizing opportunities from one-on-one founder-VC meetups more important than ever, organizers say
It’s a critical time within the startup funding ecosystem, Dan Kerr and Maggie Kenefake agreed, noting the slow tick of investments across the region present a core challenge — and opportunities — to be addressed by this fall’s MidxMidwest event. “If you look at capital, 80 percent went to the biggest three states again, and…
Brookside couple envisions upscale neighborhood escape in former Michael Forbes spot
A couple who first met as servers at a restaurant on the Country Club Plaza are setting the table for a new venture in Brookside: an “elevated” neighborhood bistro and bottle shop that’s expected to open in early 2025. After a light remodeling, Hannah Koenig and Avery Bailey plan to open CRU in late January…
KC Pioneers scored Kansas City a spot on the ‘gaming wave’; why this pro esports teams views its hometown as a championship asset
In the globe-spanning esports market, most of the top competitive gaming teams keep their hometown — if they have one — ambiguous to the public. With the industry expected to touch 1 billion people worldwide by 2029 and players untethered to physical locations, it’s simply an unimportant biographical detail to many. And potentially limiting for others.…
How a $527M development is poised to transform KC’s last ‘Wild West’ neighborhood
Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. A New York developer plans to renovate several historic West Bottoms buildings into apartments and office space, in addition to new…