Phoenix Might Be Getting Google Fiber

Phoenix is among nine U.S. cities that Google has selected as a potential location for Google Fiber.

According to Google, the Internet service provided by Google Fiber is "100 times faster than today's basic broadband."

There currently are only two cities in the country with Google Fiber -- Kansas City and Provo, Utah.

According to the Google page with the announcement of the Google Fiber expansion, the company has "started early discussions with 34 cities in nine metro areas around the United States to explore what it would take to bring a new fiber-optic network to their community."

This proposed expansion to Phoenix also includes Scottsdale and Tempe.

The page says Google hopes to know by the end of the year which cities will be getting Fiber.

Here are the details on how Phoenix could land Google Fiber:

We'll provide a checklist of things for these cities to complete to help make their area ready for fiber. We're asking cities to provide us with information that can speed up planning and construction (e.g. maps of poles, conduit, existing water, gas, and electricity lines). We also ask that they streamline processes (e.g. permitting procedures and access to local infrastructure) to make it easier for a construction process of this scale to move quickly.

At the same time, Google Fiber will begin scoping the costs and timelines for building a new fiber-optic network. Google will conduct a detailed study of factors that affect construction plans, such as topography (e.g. hills, flood zones), housing density, and the condition of local infrastructure.

After we complete these steps, we hope to announce the next round of cities who'll be getting Google Fiber by the end of 2014. While we'd love to bring Fiber to every one of these cities, it might not work out for everyone. Cities who have worked with us through this process, however, will have taken a big step forward in making their community ready for construction by any provider.

In Kansas City, gigabit Internet plus Google's TV service costs $120 per month. For just the gigabit Internet, it's $70 per month, and for a more basic Internet connection of 5 megabits per second download, and 1 megabit per second upload, it's free for "at least" seven years, provided the person pays a one-time $300 "construction fee."

By comparison, Cox's best Internet package advertises download speeds of 150 megabits per second (or, about one-sixth the speed of Google Fiber) for $100 a month.

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