Google will offer free internet to public housing residents in its Fiber markets

Google is about to make the Web easier to access for many people: it’ll offer free internet to public and affordable housing residents in its Fiber markets.

The move is part of the new federal ConnectHome project, announced today, which aims to bring the Web to 28 public housing communities across the country.

Google Fiber covers four of these areas, Atlanta, Durham, Nashville and Kansas City, and it will extend the program to every current and future Fiber market. The company is also working with local community programs to foster computer training sessions in these markets.

Google says the move is inspired by its participation in a similar Austin program called Unlocking the Connection. In that program, Google offered its Basic 5 Mbps tier for free, but customers could upgrade to the full Gigabit connection at any time.

That said, Fiber Basic is actually already free on a monthly basis, but includes a $300 construction fee (also payable in $25 installments) to get the infrastructure running. Google won’t charge that fee for public housing residents though, so a basic connection will truly be free. The full gigabit connection costs $70 a month, and the construction fee is normally waived for that tier.

➤ Bringing Internet access to public housing residents [Google Fiber Blog]

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