In the coming years, Google Fiber intends to expand to numerous communities in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska, and Nevada, marking the company’s first significant growth since it became a separate division of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in 2015.
Google Fiber Ready to Add More Build Velocity
After more than four years of honing operations, Dinni Jain told Reuters in his first media interview since taking over as CEO of Google Fiber in February 2018 that his team was finally ready to “add a little bit more build velocity.”
The previously announced projects to begin in Mesa, Arizona, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, are included in the planned growth from 17 metro areas across the United States to 22 metro areas. Decisions were made based on the company’s observations of where speeds lag.
“There was an impression 10 years ago that Google Fiber was trying to build the entire country,” Jain said. “What we are gesturing here is, ‘No, we are not trying to build the entire country.’”
Regarding Google Fiber’s financial performance or planned fundraising, Jain declined to comment.
Other Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) subsidiaries may have shut down, been acquired by another company, or raised outside money to verify their value independently. Google Fiber might have to make similar decisions when the growth happens over the next three to five years.
Alphabet Could Not Rely on Dipping Into a Rich Parent Wallet
The expansion strategy comes as concerns about a global recession deepen. Alphabet and other businesses reduce staff and scrap several side initiatives.
“The intent is to build businesses that will be successful in and of their own right and that is what we are trying to do at Google Fiber for sure,” Jain said. He added that the company could not rely on dipping into “a rich parent’s wallet.”
When co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin said they were tired of relying on Congress to push the industry toward higher speeds at lower costs, Google started taking on internet service giants like Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) in 2010.
The project was successful. In initial launch locations like Austin, Texas, as well as in Los Angeles and other potential sites, rivals fought to match Google Fiber’s gigabit per second speeds.
In his previous position as Time Warner Cable’s chief operating officer, Jain said, “We were so paranoid.”
However, Google distinguished its core business in 2015 from side investments like Fiber, delivery drones, and anti-aging products. In addition, Page and Brin gave up some control.
Google Fiber had to reduce its annual losses by hundreds of millions of dollars, which had been used for building, testing out novel ways to ground fiberoptic cables, and subsidizing some services.
Over the past few years, Google Fiber has curtailed expansion to West Des Moines, Iowa, and within current urban regions, while Wall Street applauded cost limits and transparency. Jain improved procedures and abandoned time-saving schemes like taping cables to pavements.
More building was done in the past year than in the three years prior.
According to Jain, the mentality and culture of enormous invention had to give way to one of operational excellence.
Google Fiber keeps an advantage in its view. Time should be saved by digging trenches that are not as deep as others, and expenses should be controlled by streamlining setup and pricing to reduce customer support calls.
Customers contacted Fiber a third less frequently than he had noticed at comparable businesses, according to Jain, who also characterized sign-ups as “very healthy” and greater than he had anticipated before joining.
According to Jain, Google Fiber will keep pursuing wireless service for multi-unit buildings under the Webpass brand. It will occasionally rent neighborhood fiber networks from other service providers.
Featured Image: Megapixl ©Veerapongtak
