It looks like Google Fiber, which promises data transfer speeds that are 100 times faster than the average Internet connection, is looking to expand in a big way.
On Wednesday, Google announced in a blog post that it’s talking with 34 cities in nine metropolitan areas across the United States, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Ariz., Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and San Jose, Calif., where, presumably, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are congratulating each other via Google Glass.
Google Fiber — which has current contracts with Kansas City, Provo, Utah, and Austin, Texas — connects people to the Internet at speeds of 1 gigabit per second, much faster than anything offered by other Internet service providers. (Apparently, Google is also working on a 10-gigabit-per-second service).
To be clear, there is no guarantee that the good people of Portland, Ore., or Nashville, Tenn., are getting Google Fiber anytime soon. Instead, Google said it would be working “closely with each city’s leaders on a joint planning process that will not only map out a Google Fiber network in detail, but also assess what unique local challenges we might face.”