Google Fiber Roadmap Feb 2014

Google is bringing its gigabit Internet to more cities across the U.S. After testing out the technology in Kansas City, Austin and Provo, the search giant on Wednesday said it has invited cities in nine metro areas to experience the life-changing goodness of Google Fiber. That brings the tally up to 34 cities altogether, and further pushes along what will hopefully be an inevitable rollout to more areas. Who wouldn’t want speeds promised to be 100 times faster than what most people endure today?

While these nine areas have been chosen to participate, the cities need to actually accept the offer before Fiber begins rolling out. Until Google announces which cities will get Fiber, the search giant said it’ll be working with city officials on a plan to map out the network in detail, while taking into account the potential challenges ahead. Planning will include studying an area’s topography, housing density and the condition of local infrastructure, Google said. This will help ensure there’s as little disruption to resident as possible.

Even though Google has picked some future targets, the company acknowledges that unforeseen obstacles could keep Fiber from being installed. Google Fiber has spurned plenty of competition in the race for gigabit Internet, causing many other competitors to react with similar networks. Now that Google has even more areas on its mind, hopefully that’ll mean we’ll see even more Fiber networks—not just from Google—popping up over the next year and beyond.