Google extends Fiber TV experiment to Texas

Google is set to expand its Google Fiber internet and pay TV offering to Austin, Texas next year, after launching the experiment in Kansas City in November. 

Google said that it aims to start connecting homes in Austin by mid-2014 and will offer a similar choice of products at a comparable price to its Kansas City offering.

In Kansas Google provides  a 1 Gigabit internet connection and a fibre-powered TV service with nearly 200 HD TV channels for US$120 per month. Users can also opt for just the 1 Gigabit internet connection for US$70 per month, or a slower 5 mbps connection that is free for 7 years, provided users pay a one-time construction fee of US$300.

Milo Medin, Vice President, Google Fiber, said that Google chose Austin as it is “a mecca for creativity and entrepreneurialism, with thriving artistic and tech communities, as well as the University of Texas and its new medical research hospital.”

As well as its commercial offering, Google said it is planning to connect many public institutions, such as schools, hospitals and community centres with gigabit internet free of charge.