A report in The Information cited by Gizmodo says that Google Fiber take-up has fallen well short of the company’s expectations, and that the company is slashing its workforce in response and seeking to dramatically cut costs.

Fiber executives had ambitious hopes of signing up around 5 million subscribers in five years, said a person close to Google’s parent, Alphabet. But by the end of 2014, more than two years after service began, Google had only signed up around 200,000 broadband subscribers, said a former employee. The current number isn’t known, but it’s still well short of initial expectations, said another person close to Alphabet […]

Last month, Alphabet CEO Larry Page ordered Google Fiber’s chief, Craig Barratt, to halve the size of the Google Fiber team to 500 people, said the second person close to Alphabet … 

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We learned back in April that Google was planning to experiment with wireless Fiber service to extend the reach of its high-speed broadband service beyond cities, but the company wouldn’t be drawn on where it had in mind. An FCC filing spotted by Business Insider now appears to provide the answer.

A table in the filing reveals 24 locations spanning 17 states where Google is seeking permission to conduct tests, which are a mix of Fiber and non-Fiber locations …

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Google Fiber sign-ups are now open in Charlotte, North Carolina. Specifically, both residents and businesses in the Highland Creek neighborhood will be able to join one of three plans. The Charlotte expansion was announced at the beginning of last year along with Atlanta, Nashville, and Raleigh-Durham.

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Google I/O officially kicks off tomorrow, but this evening AT&T has taken some wind out of the company’s sails. AT&T has announced that it is brining its Google Fiber competitor to the Bay Area in California. The company says that its GigaPower service is now available in “parts of” San Francisco, San Jose, Dublin, Mountain View, Santa Clara and San Ramon.

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We heard earlier this month that Google was planning to offer Fiber customers the option of a wireless service within its existing coverage areas, but a Re/code interview suggests that the company also sees wireless as a way to extend its reach beyond cities.

In an interview with Re/code, Access CEO Craig Barratt, who oversees Fiber, said the company is working on connecting wireless towers to existing fiber lines, and that it is “experimenting with a number of different wireless technologies” to make that happen.

Barratt said that adding wireless into the mix was a way to extend Google’s high-speed broadband service to areas where laying down optical fiber wouldn’t be economic …

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