RALEIGH – As the pandemic continues with more people working at home, children dialing in to school plus familes streaming and playing video games for entertainment, Google Fiber is speeding up its broadband service to help customers deal with more demand for internet access to more devices.
Top speed is now 2 gigabits a second with a price of $100 a month.
One-gigabit service is available at $70.
The package also includes extended WiFi access, no data caps and storage of 1 terabyte.
Google also says it’s including installation and hardware.
(To check availability in your area and for more information, visit this website.)
“Google Fiber has always set the bar on speed and customer service — and now we’re taking the next step in the evolution of internet speed,” a spokesperson for Google Fiber said in a statement.
“With so many people working and learning from home, they need extra speed that allows everyone in their house the freedom to do what they need and what they want to do online all at the same time.”
According to HighSpeedInternet.com, the only other provider of 2GB service is Xfinity from Comcast.
- What can you do with gigabit internet? Check out this guide
The 2G package includes:
- Downloads of up to 2 gigabits per second and uploads of up to 1 gigabit per second.
- Up to 800 Mbps over Wi-Fi with the included Wi-Fi 6 router and mesh extender with best-in-class Wi-Fi coverage
- No data caps
- 1 TB of cloud storage
Google Fiber’s network in the Triangle includes parts of Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Morrisville.
It is continuing to expand that footprint of service, a spokesperson says.
A 2GB service means “you’ll be downloading up to 20x faster and uploading around 86x faster than you would over your average cable internet (of 100 megabits),” Google Fiber says.
Google Fiber recently began offering the 2G service in several other of its markets.
Broadband-filled market
Wake (99%), Durham (99%) and Orange (95%) already have extensive internet access at broadband speeds (100 MB or more) according to the website BroadbbandNow.
AT&T, Ting Internet, Windstream, Charter Spectrum, Frontier and CenturyLink also provide 1 GB internet service in some markets.
Current average download speeds, the website says, are as follows:
- AT&T Internet, 150.4 MBPS
- Charter Spectrum, 104.2 MBPS
- Windstream, 67.9 MBPS
- CenturyLink, 50.6 MBPS
- Frontier Communications, 7.7 MBPS
