Google Fiber Starts Connecting in North Carolina

Google Fiber announced on Twitter that it has opened up the sign-up process in the North Carolina “Triangle” area, starting in Morrisville.

Google Fiber’s build out in the area started to gear up last summer, as it identified locations for its “fiber huts,” including Raleigh, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, Morrisville, Cary, and Garner. AT&T and Charter Communications are among the incumbent providers in the area.

Google Fiber is kicking things off in Morrisville, a town located between Raleigh and Durham, because it’s the home of the provider’s “digital backbone,” Erik Garr, head of operations in the Triangle for Google Fiber, told TheNews & Observer.

Per Google Fiber’s apartment-finder tool, Treybrooke at the Park in Morrisville already has fiber installed.

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In Morrisville, Google Fiber is offering qualified homes 1-gig standalone broadband for $70 per month, or 1-Gig plus pay TV starting at $140 per month, and a standalone 100 Mbps service for $50 per month. Subs can add phone for an additional $10 per month.

Google Fiber is pushing ahead with signups there amid rumors that its operations could be downsized and expansion plans reined back as it eyes potentially less expensive wireless alternatives.

MoffetNathanson analyst Craig Moffett, citing new data from the U.S. Copyright Office, said in a report last week that Google Fiber ended Q2 2016 with 68,715 video subscribers, up 66.6% year-over-year, along with an estimate that Google Fiber had about 453,000 broadband customers by the end of June 2016.

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In response, Google Fiber said it is pleased with the progress it’s making on the TV front and that it is continuing to expand into multiple cities.