Google Fiber said this week that its next expansion will be a network in Lawrence, Kansas, the home of the University of Kansas.
Rachel Merlo, Head of Government and Community Affairs for the company’s central region, wrote in a blog post that the design and engineering process is getting started and that construction will begin next year. Service will be available to the first customers toward the end of 2025.
Approval for the Google Fiber expansion was given at the Lawrence City Commission Meeting on August 6. Google Fiber — which markets itself as GFiber — will pay the city 2% of gross revenues per calendar quarter. Those funds will go to the city’s general fund.
The project is a homecoming of sorts. Kansas City, Kansas technically was the first Google Fiber city in 2011. Kansas City, Missouri soon followed. In general, the combined Kansas City metro is considered the birthplace of Google Fiber.
In early July, Google Fiber announced expansion plans with a new network in Hyde Park, Utah. Construction is starting this year, with the first customers to be brought online during the summer of 2025. The city has a population of about 5,600 people.
Early last month, the company said it had tested a 50 Gbps connection on a live network in their Kansas City fiber huts. The test featured Nokia’s 50G PON technology. The test was a step toward the company’s goal of providing speeds as fast as 100 Gbps.
In March, Google Fiber’s expansion into Glenaire, Missouri was announced. The community is in the Kansas City metro area, so it likely will have some impact to Kansas residents.
