Tennessean, The

A Google Fiber rep is headed to Nashville (TN) to continue investigating the company’s local expansion efforts, this time focusing on bringing high-speed access into neighborhoods historically lacking access to that kind of service. The idea is to help residents of all income levels gain high-speed access.

Erica Swanson, Google Fiber program manager for digital inclusion, will meet with city officials, nonprofits and tech organizations to gain insights on the needs and challenges concerning connectivity in Nashville. Swanson’s visit will be the third meeting Google Fiber has had with city leaders since announcing in February that it was scoping out Nashville and eight other metropolitan areas for expansion of its fiber optic network, which is advertised as being up to 100 times faster than basic broadband.

In addition to offering the gigabit-per-second connection, Google Fiber can connect households to basic broadband without a monthly fee, although a one-time installation fee is required. The possibility of bringing Google Fiber to Nashville has been welcomed by city officials, tech leaders, business executives and consumers for its capability to increase connectivity speeds, offer alternatives to current Internet providers and put Nashville on the map as a technologically advanced community.