Google Rolls Out Free Internet Gigabit Service to Public Housing

Google Fiber, which has been rolling out its superfast Internet connection throughout the Triangle, says it will soon offer free Internet service to HUD-assisted and affordable housing in the cities in which it operates – about 30 cities in all. “We need to ensure that everyone, no matter if their families are of modest means, that they have the tools to compete in this 21 century global economy, so I applaud Google Fiber for stepping up and offering their top-level service”, he said.

Alphabet Inc. will give public housing properties connected to its Fiber network free ultra-fast broadband, as the company tries to link low-income people to Internet services a hundred times faster than the USA average.

Today’s announcement said that’s being pushed up to 1Gbps downloads and uploads, a speed that normally costs $70 a month. The ultimate plans by Google involve covering as many as 1,300 households in both Kansas City, Mo. and Kansas City, Kan. Today, the service is available in two other cities – Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah – with work under way in six others. Plans for other cities were not announced. And we’re not talking about the budget 5 down/1 up service; we’re talking about full-blown 1Gbps Google Fiber. I know that when it was announced that my neck of the woods here in North Carolina would be receiving Google Fiber, my Facebook feed lit up with overjoyed friends exhausted of the monopolies that rule the Internet roost.

“The gigabit speeds are being offered to all of the residents who are in the public housing that we are connecting”.

Families in public housing properties will also be able to purchase discounted devices and learn new computer skills through local ConnectHome partners like Surplus Exchange and Connecting for Good. “[But] for families in affordable housing, cost can be one of the biggest barriers to getting online”.

The free service is a major relief for her and her three-year old son.