Google Fiber’s plan to give free Internet to the poor

Google Fiber says it's going to give away its high speed Internet service to thousands of low-income Americans across the country who can't afford gigabit broadband. Starting with its Kansas City market, Google Fiber eventually plans to wire "select" public housing buildings in all of the cities where it operates, the company said. Ultimately, as many as 1,300 households in Kansas City (MO) and Kansas City (KS) will get a free subscription to Google Fiber's 1,000 Mbps service, enabling those users to download the equivalent of an HD movie in about 7 seconds. Based on the current cost of a gigabit subscription, Google Fiber will be giving away more than $1 million a year worth of Internet service to Kansas City residents alone.

It's all part of a wider plan by the White House aimed at connecting the disconnected. In summer 2015, President Barack Obama launched a pilot project known as ConnectHome that vowed to link 275,000 low-income households to the Internet. As part of that move, Google Fiber said it would selectively provide free broadband to certain public housing units. Feb 3's announcement reflects the company's follow-through on that promise. It may also help parent company Alphabet, which owns Google. The more people are connected to the Web, the more likely those people will use Google's online services, which ultimately benefits Google's primary business, search and advertising.