Google Fiber just announced its biggest expansion in 7 years

It’s been a few years since Google Fiber made headline news. In 2016, a year after Google Fiber spun off into its own subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google put expansion plans on hold. In the years since, Google has been slowly building out its network in the cities and regions that it already services. But this week, CEO Dinni Jain announced the first major expansion for the service since it rolled out to four new markets in 2015.

Google Fiber expanding to 5 new states

On Wednesday, Jain said in a blog post that Google Fiber is expanding to Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Idaho in the coming years.

Google Fiber had previously set its sights on Mesa, Arizona, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. Jain says the team has spent months traveling the country in search of cities that want better internet. In an interview with Reuters — his first since becoming CEO in 2018 — he noted that it was time for the company to “add a little bit more build velocity.”

This announcement accompanies a notable uptick in growth this year. Back in March, Google Fiber arrived in West Des Moines, Iowa — its first new state since 2017. In April, the company announced that it also planned to move east into Des Moines.

When Google Fiber launched in 2010, many people believed that the company was gunning to become one of the top internet service providers in America. As Jain explained to Reuters, that was never really the case, and it’s still not the case today: “There was an impression 10 years ago that Google Fiber was trying to build the entire country. What we are gesturing here is, ‘No, we are not trying to build the entire country.’”

The beginning of a new era

In the blog post, Jain explained how the company plans to expand in the years to come:

These states will be the main focus for our growth for the next several years, along with continued expansion in our current metro areas. In addition, we’d also love to talk to communities that want to build their own fiber networks. We’ve seen this model work effectively in Huntsville and in West Des Moines, and we’ll continue to look for ways to support similar efforts. We’re thrilled to be expanding our geographic reach once again — bringing better internet to more people in more places. Stay tuned in the coming months as we fill in this picture with more details about our new cities, even faster speeds and redefined customer service.

While Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Idaho will be the company’s focus, it sounds like even more cities could join the network along the way.