Post updated at 10:07 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22:
Google Fiber’s fiber optic internet service is coming to Lawrence.
Rachel Merlo, head of government and community affairs for Google Fiber’s central region, said it was too soon to know which parts of town might get access to the service first.
“But I can tell you that we plan to start construction on the network in the first half of next year, and our first customers should be able to sign up by the end of 2025,” she said.
That will include residential as well as small business service, she said.
The Lawrence City Commission passed an ordinance earlier this month to allow Google Fiber to use the city’s right-of-way. In exchange, once service is up and running, Google will pay the city $4.20 per quarter per subscriber, and slightly more for each business subscriber.
Google Fiber will install a new network in town. That will go mostly underground, though it might need to attach to some poles, Merlo said. (If you’ve seen fiber installers around town lately, they’re not connected to this project.)
“For a community the size of Lawrence, you can expect to see our crews active for three to four years, building out the network across the city,” she said.
“When it gets closer to actually being, say, on someone’s street, we’ll provide a pre-construction notice, typically letting folks know, ‘Hey, you’re about to see Google Fiber in your neighborhood; if you have any questions, here’s the phone number to call,’” she continued.
Lawrence is home to much student housing and many apartment complexes. Asked whether people might need to push their landlords to sign up, Merlo said “Please do.”
Individual apartment units won’t be able to sign up for the service on their own — it has to be sold to the whole building with the permission of the property manager, Merlo said.
“We do have a sales team that focuses on the multidwelling unit sector of the business, but certainly hearing from tenants saying ‘I want Google Fiber in my building’ — that is always appreciated,” she said.
Google Fiber was named the fastest internet provider in 2023 by HighSpeedInternet.com, and it’s offered a 99.9% reliable connection, according to stats on its website. It was surpassed by Cox this year but, at an average of 228 megabits per second, it far outranks competitors currently available in Lawrence.
Google Fiber offers $70-per-month 1 Gig service, “best for fundamental needs and smaller homes,” and $100-per-month 2 Gig service, “Internet for high-speed activities like gaming and streaming,” according to the website. The latter boasts “Download speeds up to 2 gigabits and upload speeds up to 1 gigabit per second,” according to the website.
In some locations, Google Fiber also offers 5 Gig and 8 Gig plans, at $125 and $150 per month, respectively. Those higher speeds will be available in Lawrence, Kelli Kolich, who works for a PR firm representing Google Fiber, confirmed via email.
People who want to stay up to date on what’s happening with Google Fiber in Lawrence can sign up for updates at this link.
“We’ll work closely with the City of Lawrence to ensure that we minimize any disruption and that we are keeping residents informed throughout this project,” according to a blog post Merlo wrote.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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