Google Fiber plans to install a high-speed, fiber optic network inside Shavano Park, the result of a City Council decision made Sept. 18.
What happened
Council approved a public right-of-way license agreement allowing Google Fiber to install and maintain a fiber optic infrastructure network within city limits.
The background
City officials initially proposed bringing high-speed internet service to Shavano Park in May 2022.
Council Member Pete Miller created an internet working group with Al Walea and Dennis Strong, both residents with information technology backgrounds. The working group and city staff engaged local internet service providers, including AT&T, Spectrum, Google Fiber, Astound (Grande) and FiberLight.
According to city officials, the internet working group met with Google Fiber executives on July 13 where Google Fiber’s representatives expressed interest in extending their fiber network to all of Shavano Park’s subdivisions.
Dig deeper
City officials said Google Fiber’s real estate team will coordinate with local homeowners associations to get right-of-access agreements with their respective neighborhoods.
Google Fiber officials said they plan to offer two plans to Shavano Park residents beginning in late 2024 or early 2025:
- 1-gigabit upload and download speeds with 1 terabit of free cloud storage and a WiFi router for $70 per month
- 2-gigabit upload and download speeds with 1 terabit of free cloud storage, a WiFi router and one mesh extender for several routers for $100 per month
What’s next
Google Fiber plans to start building its fiber optic network by mid-2024, and coordinate with the city of Shavano Park, other utilities and contractors who are handling current state- and locally-funded road projects.
Google Fiber officials said there is no need to build a “hut,” or small structure to serve as a hub for the new local network.
Shavano Park residents can sign up for availability updates at fiber.google.com.
