Google superfast Internet service spreading to Utah

Google said on Wednesday that its experimental high-speed Internet service is setting its sights on the Utah city of Provo.

Provo is slated to be the third US city to get Google Fiber service that promises to move data at a blazing gigabyte-per-second, according to a blog post by Google Fiber general manager Kevin Lo.

Last week, Google released word that its Internet service will spread to Austin, the Texas home of a South By Southwest festival beloved by technology trendsetters, after a successful pilot program in Kansas City.

Google Fiber should start connecting its so-called gigabit Internet to homes in Austin, the Texas state capital and a hotbed for Internet entrepreneurs, by the middle of next year, said vice president of access services Milo Medin.

As part of a plan to install Google Fiber in Utah, the California-based Internet giant inked a deal to buy an iProvo fiber-optic network that the city of Provo began building in 2004 but has not completed, according to Lo.

The agreement with Provo must be approved by the city council to proceed, and a vote is slated for April 23, Google said.

"We're committed to keeping their vision alive," Lo said of the plan to build iProvo into a Google Fiber network in that city.

If the deal is approved, Google would provide free Internet lower-speed service along the existing Provo network for at least seven years, with each home required to pay a $30 activation fee.

Google would charge monthly subscription rates for high-speed Internet connections along with optional services such as television programming.

Google's 'Gigabit Internet' would be free to public institutions such as schools, hospitals and libraries.

Google Fiber debuted in Kansas City and in November began providing users there with Internet service that moves data at about 100 times faster than the speed provided by typical broadband connections.

(c) 2013 AFP