Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2014/04/17/google_eyes_business_service_in_latest_fiber_trials/

Google eyes business service in latest Fiber trials

Lucky Kansas City buggers to host yet another pilot program

By Shaun Nichols in San Francisco

Posted in Networks, 17th April 2014 23:20 GMT

Google is in the planning stages of a project to offer its Fiber internet service to businesses in northwest Kansas City, Missouri.

Local paper The Kansas City Star said that the company is informing businesses in that area of city that they are eligible for a limited trial of the service, which will take place in coming months.

The company has also set up a questionnaire site for local businesses which will gather information for the company ahead of a possible launch. The page is being offered to firms who are on Google's Fiber mailing list in Kansas City.

A business-focused package in Kansas City would be the first such offering from Google's Fiber service. The company has thus far limited Fiber to consumer-oriented services. In addition to Kansas City, Fiber is offered in homes in Provo, Utah and Austin, Texas. Google recently announced plans to examine a number of additional cities for possible rollouts in the near future.

Thus far, no specifics have been revealed about the features or speeds offered by the business program. Google currently offers Fiber as a 1Gbps service, with plans to eventually expand bandwidth to 10Gbps.

It is possible that a business package from Google could also include bundled phone service, as recent reports have suggested that the company is in talks with local Kansas City mobile carriers to offer a branded mobile phone service. Should the company in fact offer a mobile service, the platform could be packaged with Fiber and sold to customers under a single banner.

While known primarily for its search, ad, and mobile businesses, Google has quietly made a name for itself in the enterprise market. The company offers a special version of its Apps platform for business users, and the Google Cloud platform has been put forward with aggressive price plans in hopes of luring customers away from the likes of AWS. ®