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“Google Fiber” is one of the fastest commercial internet providers in the market, but the search engine company’s ISP division has been having trouble getting subscribers onboard. In an attempt to make its services more appealing, Google is working with local authorities in Kansas City to make the gigabit internet speed essentially free.
According to The Tennessean, Google’s last attempt at wooing low-income users was a failure, largely because of the requirements that the services entailed; users needed debit cards or credit cards in order to sign up and they needed to pay a subscription fee of $25 a month. This was four years ago. Now, Google is doing a block party where residents of Edgehill Apartments will be able to sign up for the internet service for free.
The Non-profit organization Salama Urban Ministries will be covering the costs of registration for the residents, the paper reports, where each costs just about 10 cents. The low cost and the third-party cooperation are just parts of Google’s attempt to include low-income users in their services. Google Fiber’s Nashville Community Impact Manager, Daynise Joseph said as much when talking about the disparity in terms of internet access among the different levels of society.
“We have a very clear digital divide,” Joseph said. “The way we address that is by trying to remove barriers and provide options for people.”
More than the lack of interest in the service, however, the Wall Street Journal also reports on the enormous costs and issues related to installing fiber optic lines. Google notes that the main reason why so many other carriers offering high-speed fiber internet connection have given up on the idea is because of the financial and logistical obstacles involved.
This is why the company was forced to look to wireless options by acquiring companies like Webpass Inc., which connect users to the internet via point-to-point beaming of signals. This was in order to cut down on the costs while still offering high-speed internet.
