Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2015
Many small to midsize businesses (SMBs) in Kansas City can now sign up for Google Fiber Internet connections for about $100 per month for up to one gigabit, while the consumer offering will cost only $70 per month. Google will charge SMBs $20 per month for a static IP address and $30 per month for five static IPs.
The early access business program is limited to certain areas in Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, which Google is calling “fiberhoods,” according to a recent ZDNet article on the new fiber offering.
Although Google Fiber has announced consumer fiber services in Austin, Texas; Provo, Utah and Kansas City, this is the first time the company has offered business-grade connectivity. According to the Google Fiber blog, the company researched business needs in Kansas prior to the offering:
Earlier this year, we started a pilot in Kansas City to learn more about what business owners need. We heard from documentary filmmakers, flower shops, web development agencies, and more. All of these small businesses have a lot of ideas on how a faster Internet connection could speed up their entire business — we can’t wait to see what they do with Google Fiber.
Google found that for many SMBs, fast Internet means increased productivity, employee collaboration and business growth. And the fact that Google has decided to provide business Internet services shows the company’s commitment to its fiber services, since analysts have speculated that the company may be just dabbling in the fiber business. Bernstein Research analyst told the Wall Street Journal:
“This is another data point showing that Google is serious about making money with Google Fiber, an important condition to be able to scale it up. It also shows that fiber is neither a regulatory play nor an experiment in user behavior.”
Carlos Casas, Kansas City field team manager for Google Fiber, explained on the company’s blog that the company knows “that small businesses play a big part in Provo and Austin, too,” but, it doesn’t currently have plans to offer small business Google Fiber in any other cities. However, if the offering proves to be profitable in Kansas and Missouri, it would seem the company would want to expand the service sooner rather than later.
Kim Mays has been editing and writing about IT since 1999. She currently tackles the topics of small to midsize business technology and introducing new tools for IT. Follow Kim on Google+ or Twitter.
