Google Fiber’s next stop? Provo

It seemed as if only months ago Google Fiber was being classed as “an experiment” by many of the folks who supposedly know about this space. The rollout in Kansas City was labeled as everything from a ploy by Google to put pressure on other broadband providers to pony up and improve their speed and prices, to an expensive publicity stunt that would likely be a one-off, too expensive to roll out anywhere else.

Even after Google Chairman Eric Schmidt in December assured pundits that it was the real deal, and that the company was “running it as a business,” the chorus of “nays” continued.

Guess what? Google just announced its third deployment, this one in Provo, Utah (the other is planned for Austin, Texas).

The company announced on its blog that it would buy iProvo, an existing fiber-optic network owned by the city. Google said it would commit to upgrade the network to gigabit technology and finish network construction so that every home along the existing iProvo network would have the opportunity to connect to Google Fiber. The city council is set to vote on the deal Tuesday, and Google said it would begin network upgrades as soon as the closing conditions are satisfied and the deal is closed.

“Provo?” you ask.

Absolutely. The city, according to Google, ranks second in the country in patent growth, is home to a bevy of tech companies (Adobe just built a massive campus a few klicks up the road in Lehi), and it already has a pretty solid fiber architecture waiting.

Google has committed to provide homes along the fiber network a free connection to the Internet with 5Mbps speeds (a la Kansas City) for at least seven years, for a $30 connection fee. Google also is offering Google Fiber Gigabit Internet and the option for Google Fiber TV service. The sugar? Google is providing free Gigabit Internet service to 25 local public institutions like schools, hospitals and libraries, again, following their strategy in Kansas City.

In Kansas City, Google is going head-to-head with Time Warner Cable, which has steadfastly maintained that it wasn’t worried, and saw the new service as just another competitor in a space where it’s top dog. In Austin, AT&T—which is the largest incumbent–has responded with a promise to deploy its own Gigabit service.

Provo is Comcast territory, and it will be interesting to see how the nation’s biggest pay-TV provider responds. Last year, as Google Fiber was beginning its deployment in K.C., Comcast execs simply said they would be watching the developments in that market—where they didn’t have a dog in the fight. In Provo, it’s a different story.

Not very long ago, one of my colleagues accused me of “drinking the Kool-Aid” when it came to Google Fiber. I guess he was right, I believe it has the ability—just like OTT is doing in the pay-TV space—to incite a revolution among consumers.

In a research note for an Asian telecom, I wrote that Google Fiber had the weight behind it to tip the scales away from incumbents. I still believe that, even more so. In fact, I’ve written a fair amount about Google Fiber since rumors about the service originally began to surface. In September, I noted that “pundits have pointed out that with ‘just’ $45 billion in the bank, Google’s not really in the position to wire the rest of the country.”

I said it then; I’ll say it now: Why would it need to? Google can become a significant power in the industry if all it does is cherry pick the markets it sees as vulnerable. Isn’t that a little scary?