Google Fiber gets put on hold in San Jose - CNET

Google Fiber announced it was exploring ways to bring its super-speedy internet service to San Jose more than a year ago. Now, months after city officials approved the major construction needed to make it happen, the subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet is saying "not so fast."

According to a report in the San Jose Mercury News, officials with Google Fiber informed at least two cities in the Silicon Valley region that they're putting the rollout on hold in order to explore cheaper alternatives. Those alternatives likely include a stronger focus on aerial installation, especially coming after Google Fiber's purchase of the point-to-point internet service provider Webpass in June. Webpass uses a combination of rooftop wireless networks connected to high-speed fiber connections, and promises to deliver speeds of up to 1 gigbit per second, all at a fraction of the time and cost commitment that comes with building a traditional fiber-based network. Webpass already serves business clients in cities like San Francisco and New York.

Google Fiber is already up and running in seven US cities, with several more listed as "upcoming" or "potential" expansion sites. City officials in the San Jose region say that Google has assured them that they remain committed to the deployment, though a Palo Alto staff report estimates the delay at "up to six months or more."