Andrew Adams

In March 2010, Google Fiber burst onto the Internet provider scene, offering cities the promise of high-speed broadband service. That promise, however, became an increasingly complicated proposition that eventually forced the company to pause expansion efforts in 2016. When Google Fiber first launched, it offered cities Internet that reached speeds up to 1 gigabit per second. To put this into perspective, the average household in the US has an Internet connection of just under 20 megabits per second (Mbps), according to Lifewire. Typical high-speed service ranges between 25 and 75 Mbps.