Google has sent out formal invitations to nearly three dozen cities in nine metro areas across the country to explore what it would take to build fiber-optic networks in those communities. A number of the cities in question petitioned Google for the service in 2010 but as we know, only a small handful were approved for the buildout.
In a blog post on the matter, Google VP of Access Services Milo Medin said the 34 cities that have received invites are as follows:
Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe in Arizona; San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto in California; Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, College Park, Decatur, East Point, Hapeville, Sandy Springs and Smyrna in Georgia; Charlotte, Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Garner, Morrisville and Raleigh, North Carolina; Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Gresham, Lake Oswego and Tigard, Oregon; Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee; San Antonio, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Naturally, all of these cities won't make the cut. Instead, the search giant said they aim to provide updates by the end of the year about which cities will be getting Google Fiber. Between now and then, Google will work closely with each city's leaders on a joint planning process.
Google currently offers Fiber as part of a cable and Internet bundle priced at $120 per month, just the Internet for $70 each month and as part of a free service at a slower speed. It's unclear at this hour if that same business model will carry over to new markets, however.