Google Fiber will deploy wireless internet at or near gigabit internet speeds

by

Google has been testing a new wireless-transmission technology using the 3.5-GHz band in Kansas City, but a heavily redacted FCC filing suggests that it wants to dramatically expand to testing “experimental transmitters” at up to 24 US locations, including Provo, Utah, Omaha, Nebraska, and Boulder, Colorado, for a period of 24 months.

Google bought the point-to-point wireless-internet company Webpass earlier this summer. The Fiber team has turned more of its attention to a using a new approach that will pair existing fiber with its own wireless technology.

Webpass is active in five major areas in the U.S., including the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago and Miami. The company already has more than 20,000 customers. The acquisition of WebPass provides a boost to Google Fiber’s expansion plans in the Bay Area and gives it a competitive edge over cable broadband companies who usually provide broadband access to consumers in large apartment buildings in this region

Webpass has been offering speeds of 100, 200, or 500 Mbps to multi-unit buildings of 10 units or more.

ATT is also testing fast wireless

Austin may be one of the first markets to get a taste of fast wireless technology. AT&T expects to conduct field tests there later this year; it promises ultimately to provide multi-gigabit speeds that represent an orders-of-magnitude improvement over today’s typical home Internet services. It’s also planning outdoor trials in Middletown, N.J. The company has said users of wireless fiber can expect speeds that are 50 to 100 times greater than what mobile users currently get on 4G LTE.