Google will provide free gigabit internet to everyone in public housing where Fiber is deployed

As part of giving back to the community, Google is providing free gigabit internet service to residents in all public housing where Fiber is deployed. This is a change from an announcement last year where only some in public housing would get free Fiber.

A hundred homes in Kansas City, one of their first markets, have already been wired up, with expansion to a further nine properties (where 1,300 families live) being planned. Paying for gigabit internet from Fiber would otherwise cost $70 per month. Fiber does have a free 5Mbps plan, but subscribers have to pay a $300 installation cost. The paid plans and this initiative waive that cost. In addition to the 1,000 Mbps upload and download speeds, subscribers will get a network box that act as Wi-Fi router and 1TB of Google Drive storage.

This is part of the ConnectHome initiative by the White House and Department of Housing and Urban Development to accelerate internet adoption by families with school-age children. Google also plans to work with local groups to help build computer labs and sponsor digital literacy classes.

The company has not revealed any details about expansion in the two other cities where Fiber is live and in the upcoming six cities. Last December, Google began investigating rolling Fiber out to the large metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and Chicago.