Free Google Fiber Internet to be Offered to Poor Communities
Last summer, Google has stated that it would play a big part in the White House's pilot project known as ConnectHome, a program that aims to provide internet connections to about 275,000 low-income households across the country.
This Wednesday, Google has followed through on its promise, announcing that the company will be providing free Fiber connections to the West Bluff Townhomes community in Kansas City, Missouri, according to The Washington Post.
With Google's decision, about 1,300 households in the area would be able to avail of Google Fiber's services, whose speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps is one of the best in the country. Such as speed enables a conventional internet user to download a Full HD movie in about 7 seconds.
Of course, the best part about Google's decision is the fact that the people in the community would not need to pay for the service at all, which costs about $70 monthly on its regular price.
The tech giant has confirmed the news, emphasizing that the West Bluff community is just the first of many low-income areas across the United States that will receive Google Fiber for free.
"We've wired all 100 homes with Fiber, and families can sign up today to access the Internet at up to 1,000Mbps. We're bringing gigabit speed Internet to residents in select public housing properties in all of our Fiber cities, for free," Google said in a statement, according to Ars Technica.
The Kansan community is not the first demographic that was given free internet service by the tech giant, however. Previously, Google has given low-income residents of Austin, Texas free internet connection too.
However, the speed of the internet connection given to the Austin demographic is far inferior to those given to the Kansan community. In Austin, customers do get free internet, but the speed of the connection was fairly basic. If users wanted to get faster internet service, they are required to pay an additional fee, reported NDTV News.
It is estimated that the tech giant would be spending a substantial amount of funds in giving away its Fiber internet connection for free. For the Kansas residents alone, Google is projected to spend about $1 million a year to cover the internet connection's expenses and maintenance.
The United States is said to be one of the countries with the most expensive internet fees in the world. Despite the relatively high price, however, Americans don't really get good internet speeds compared to countries such as South Korea, with the conventional U.S. household having an average download speed of only 12 Mbps.
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