Atlanta to Receive Google Fiber

Internet giant Google announced that Atlanta is one of the four cities that will be included in the expansion of the company’s ultra-high speed internet network.

“Google Fiber is the infrastructure for the next generation of innovation in Atlanta,” said Mayor Kasim Reed in a statement following the official announcement on Tuesday. “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.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Nashville, Charlotte, and Raleigh-Durham are the other three cities that were chosen to receive the service. Google told other candidate cities like San Jose and Phoenix that Tuesday’s announcement does not eliminate them from possibly receiving Google Fiber in the near future.

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 WSJ says 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.