Google Fiber Installation Underway in Midtown

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Photo credit: Google Fiber’s Facebook page

Construction crews are hard at work in Midtown laying fiber-optic cables for Atlanta’s new Google Fiber network.

“With the design of our Google Fiber network completed, you’ll see us around town digging and stringing fiber cables so that we can deliver Google Fiber’s superfast Internet to the city,” said Fabiola Charles, Google Fiber Community Impact Manager, Metro Atlanta in a statement. ”As we lay thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable throughout Metro Atlanta, we’ll keep residents updated along the way.”

The Decatur Minute reports that though the cables are being installed in Midtown first, Midtown may not necessarily be the first part of Atlanta to have the service activated. Other parts of the city like Decatur, Sandy Springs, and Brookhaven, will see the construction of their fiber-optic networks begin in the next few months, Atlanta InTown says.

“Google Fiber is the infrastructure for the next generation of innovation in Atlanta,” said Mayor Kasim Reed in a statement following the official announcement in January. “High-speed internet access is essential to participate in the 21st century economy. In addition to supporting our thriving tech and startup communities, Google Fiber will bring greater economic opportunities to every quadrant of the City, so that the next great business idea is just as likely to come from Southwest Atlanta as it is from any other neighborhood.”

Google Fiber is an ultra-high speed, fiber-optic internet service which provides download speeds up to 10 times faster than those provided by traditional high speed internet service.

The Wall Street Journal said in January that Google will need about a year to build up its fiber-optic network and extend it to businesses and neighborhoods which have shown a high enough interest for the service.