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Google Fiber getting rid of traditional TV in favor of Chromecast, streaming alternatives

Google Fiber is available in 11 cities/regions across the country and has spent the last few years modernizing its service. The legacy Google Fiber TV offering is now officially set to be retired in favor of streaming.

Alphabet’s ISP thinks “traditional TV is expensive and outdated.” Google Fiber originally offered a conventional “Fiber TV Box” with DVR and plans starting at $105/month. The migration away from that legacy plan to a free Chromecast with Google TV and paid streaming service, like YouTube TV, FuboTV, Philo, or Sling, started earlier this year. 

That “Fiber TV Upgrade,” which includes replacing the Network Box router with Google Wifi, became available to all cities in June. As of today, customers in Nashville, Huntsville, Salt Lake City, and Provo are fully off of Fiber TV. Meanwhile:

Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, and Irvine will finish their transitions by the end of September, with Austin and Atlanta following at the end of November.

Google Fiber does not yet have a timeline for Kansas City but is encouraging everyone to upgrade as it “will ultimately retire Fiber TV” in all markets. There will be a 90-day notice before plans change.

With this change, Google Fiber gets to streamline its offering and focus on delivering faster internet service. For example, new customers today can only choose from 1 Gig or 2 Gig services. That said, it still offers a Google Voice-powered Fiber Phone for $10 per month.

More about Google Fiber:

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com