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In each of our GFiber cities, we support organizations that focus on the advancement of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and deliver cutting edge programming. Craft Lake City shares on the blog the impact over the past 10 years of ensuring community members have the opportunity to engage with and benefit from STEM educational experiences with the support of GFiber . 

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The GFiber STEM Building has been a time honored source of discovery and learning for festival goers for a full decade now! This collaboration has supported Craft Lake City to foster hands-on experiences and illustrate how creativity drives innovation across various fields. CLC  believes that the power of creativity is universal and essential to providing solutions in the science, technology, engineering and math worlds as much as it is for the arts.  

While the STEM Building has been a staple of the DIY Fest since its inception in 2012, GFiber’s sponsorship took it to the next level in 2015. That year, the STEM area hosted around 30 STEM exhibitors and it quickly became a fan-favorite attraction of the Festival. Over the last decade, GFiber has remained committed to making digital resources and technology more accessible to the local community in Utah, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to engage with and benefit from the latest STEM advancements year after year. 

The GFiber STEM Building has collaborated with Craft Lake City to create a space for makers and STEM enthusiasts alike, where everyone is allowed to let their curiosity take over and discover new interests. This space plays an integral part in building community for science, technology, engineering and math creators while inspiring the next generation to pursue their own creative passions. 


As a direct result of this partnership, Craft Lake City has been able to grow year-round STEM programming as well, teaching concepts like rocketry to Title I elementary schools across Utah through the CLC rocket launch program. Kicking off in 2022, this program teaches students about the use of variables, ratios, principles of motion, and more through hands-on, kid-friendly activities. 


At this year’s Craft Lake City DIY Festival, the GFiber STEM Building hosted over 40 STEM exhibitors, including local game developers, DIY Engineers, local tinkerers, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. Across the weekend, there were interactive experiences for all audiences including Photon Glow Tent, Meta’s Virtual Reality headset, DIY rocket launches, STEM Action Center’s Pop-Up Maker Faire and Indie Game Day! Each day, attendees had the opportunity to creatively explore  the photon glow booth, play virtual reality games with Meta’s VR headset and customize their very own bottle rockets then launch them into the sky! On Saturday, STEM Action Center’s Pop-Up Maker Fair hosted additional local makers with crafting activities for the whole family. On Sunday, Indie Game Day presented festival go-ers with the chance to check out the newest offerings from nine indie studios and engage with the Utah Chapter of the International Game Developers Association of Utah (IGDA). These partnerships demonstrate that the GFiber STEM Building has grown in the past decade to both offer festival attendees and local STEM educators new and engaging opportunities.


Craft Lake City and GFiber are excited to continue this collaboration with a shared mission of advancing local STEM education and delivering cutting-edge programming in Utah. Over the past decade, we have been jointly committed to ensuring that all community members have the opportunity to engage with and benefit from these impactful educational experiences.

Posted by Angela Brown, Executive Director Craft Lake City









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At GFiber, we are committed to providing you with a great internet experience at every point in the network, both outside and inside your home. You should have access to quality internet anywhere in your home, not just in certain areas. Having a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout your home is important for seamless browsing, streaming, gaming, and working. If you’ve ever dealt with dead zones or slow speeds, you know the struggle. Mesh extenders can be a game changer by boosting your signal and expanding your coverage. Let's dive into what they are, how they work, and why you might need one. (For GFiber customers, our plans come with GFiber Wi-Fi 6E Mesh Extenders included at no extra cost.) 

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How Mesh Extenders work

Mesh extenders strengthen your home network by capturing the Wi-Fi signal from your router and sharing it in hard-to-reach spots. They create additional access points in your home, expanding your network’s reach. This is especially helpful when your router’s signal can’t cover every room or area, which can happen for many reasons, like if you have thicker walls, several floors or the home is more spread out.

Setting up your mesh extenders

A mesh extender can be added to your network in just a few simple steps 

  • Connect the mesh extender’s adapter to a power source.
  • Connect the mesh extender to the router using the ethernet cables. 
  • Wait for the blinking white status light to turn green on the mesh extender. (The green status color means the mesh extender is now paired to your router). 
The GFiber App can also help you pair the router and mesh extender, easily find the best spot for your mesh extenders and also check your mesh extender’s internet connectivity, speed, and coverage with the app’s Network Health feature. If eligible (not all routers are compatible) to use Network Health, you can tap on “Show my network’s health” and it will run a test and score the spot either excellent, good, or poor. If the signal isn’t quite as strong as you’d like it to be, you can adjust the extender’s position for optimal coverage.

Placement matters
















Once the mesh extender is connected to the network, you need to find the perfect spot for your mesh extender, which is key to a strong Wi-Fi signal. The sweet spot is usually halfway between your router and the area with poor Wi-Fi coverage. 

Start by placing the first mesh extender no more than one or two rooms away from the router and close to the area with weak coverage, ideally 5-10 feet high and away from obstructions like walls and furniture. Pro Tip: Placing the extender in the dead zone won’t work, since the mesh extender needs a strong signal from the Router to be effective. 

If you have a large home with multiple dead spots, you can add additional mesh extenders. Remember, thick walls and materials like concrete and metal can interfere with the signal, so place your mesh extenders carefully. 

Some additional things to consider 

Each extender adds to the network’s workload. While mesh extenders are generally better than traditional repeaters, too many Mesh Extenders close to each other can actually slow your Wi-Fi down and lead to lag, interference, and other annoying issues. Plus, managing a large number of extenders can be a headache if you need to troubleshoot issues or tweak your network settings.

Also, you’ll need to make sure your mesh extenders are compatible with your router. For GFiber customers using the GFiber provided router, the included mesh extenders will work with your system, but you can also use your own compatible multi-gig router. Just make sure you get mesh extenders that are compatible with your particular router.

Mesh extenders are a great way to expand your home’s Wi-Fi coverage and performance by eliminating dead zones and improving your online experience.  If you’d like more information or still have questions, head over to our GFiber Help page or contact us.

Posted by Ishan Patel, Product Manager




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Today is National 8/11 Day; August 11th highlights the significance of underground excavation safety when doing home projects. By reinforcing the importance of calling the national 811 hotline before digging, everyone can help prevent damage to underground utilities and ensure the safety of workers and homeowners alike.

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In the United States, nearly every digging project, regardless of its size or location, requires contacting 811 a few days in advance of breaking ground. This free, national service connects homeowners with their local utility companies and others who may have infrastructure assets underground, who will mark the locations of underground lines such as gas, electric, and water pipes, as well as internet lines. By calling 811 before digging, homeowners can avoid accidentally damaging these lines, which can lead to injuries, property damage, loss of service, and costly repairs.

Excavation accidents are far too common, causing damage to underground utilities and posing a significant risk to public safety. According to the Common Ground Alliance’s (“CGA”) annual DIRT Report (issued in conjunction with CGA’s affiliated Damage Prevention Institute), over 213,000 excavation-related damages occurred in the United States in the year 2022 alone. However, data collection, transparency, and industry collaboration of the nature reflected in the DIRT Report are instrumental tools in the fight to mitigate the frequency of excavation-related accidents. We have been impressed with the work that CGA and the Damage Prevention Institute have done and would encourage others in the industry to join and participate.


Homeowners play a vital role in preventing excavation accidents by contacting 811 by phone or online before any digging project, no matter how small. Even if you are just planting a tree, installing a fence, or building a deck, it's crucial to contact 811 to have underground utilities marked before you start digging.

Once a call comes in to 811, a Utility Locator will come out to mark the location of existing underground infrastructure by spray painting the sidewalk or lawn or putting in flags. Being a Utility Locator is a tough job. These individuals are helping to save lives by taking affirmative safety measures designed to avoid major damages that in extreme circumstances lead to loss of life. Please help us get this important message out by sharing with your neighbors that these Locators are doing this job as a public service. In fact, you might even want to thank a Locator next time you see them! By working together, we can create a safer environment for everyone and make sure everyone’s utility services stay online.

Our internet services should “just work”, and typically that is the case. The foundation of the internet is millions of miles of fiber optic cable that connect each of us to the online world. These cables are continuously at risk of damage from construction activities (and the same could be said for utilities as well). Locators are the first line of defense, working diligently to provide a safe working environment for excavators, and ensuring access to the internet whenever we need it.


Thank you for being proactive when it comes to making that 811 call - on 8/11 and every day. GFiber is committed to doing our part. We use 811 for all of our construction projects, and we’re going even further. By leveraging large public databases of historic utility damages, a detailed model of the GFiber network, and 811 locate tickets, GFiber is developing an AI model that can better predict when and where damage to our network may occur. This will allow GFiber to implement additional protective measures in high-risk areas.

Posted by Ariane Schaffer, Government Affairs & Public Policy Manager, & Kelly Bell, Network Deployment & Operations Lead



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Google Fiber is officially coming to Lawrence, Kansas! Yesterday, the Lawrence City Commission passed an ordinance, paving the way for GFiber to bring our high-speed, reliable internet service further west in the Sunflower State.

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Lawrence is a friendly, vibrant community and GFiber is looking forward to helping residents connect to everything the internet has to offer. We’re kicking off the design and engineering process now, and expect to start construction next year. We’ll work closely with the City of Lawrence to ensure that we minimize any disruption  and that we are keeping residents informed throughout this project. Service will be available to our first customers in Lawrence by the end of 2025.

Residents who want to stay up to date on what’s happening with Google Fiber in Lawrence  can sign up for updates here. 

Posted By Rachel Merlo, Head of Government & Community Affairs - Central Region




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GFiber is live in the Cache Valley! Starting today, customers in Logan, Utah, can sign up for GFiber’s award winning internet service, beginning near Logan City Park, with more availability coming soon.

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Over the past decade, GFiber has continued to grow in the Beehive State, offering fast and affordable internet service in almost 20 cities. Expanding to the Cache Valley has been a long-term goal which makes this milestone even more meaningful.

Customers in Logan can select between 1 Gig for $70/month, 2 Gig for $100/month, 5 Gig for $125/month or 8 Gig for $150/month — all with symmetrical uploads and downloads,  equipment and installation included at no additional cost, and no annual contracts or data caps. We also offer GFiber for Business. Local businesses can choose between Business 2 Gig for $250/month or Business 1 Gig for $100/month.

And we’re just getting started!  We will continue to expand to more neighborhoods in Logan and we are thrilled to have signed agreements with North Logan and Hyde Park and look forward to adding service to those cities soon.  We're also actively exploring opportunities to serve even more areas in the region.

We couldn't have reached this milestone without the incredible support and collaboration of city staff, mayors, and city councils across Cache Valley. Their dedication to enhancing connectivity has paved the way for GFiber's arrival, and we're immensely grateful for their partnership.


If you live near Logan City Park, don't miss the chance to experience GFiber's award-winning internet service. Visit our website to sign up today!

Posted by Alberto Garcia, Government and Community Affairs Manager




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Google Fiber’s Community Connections program provides gigabit internet service to local nonprofits to help them serve their constituencies and meet their organizational goals. Today, the Austin Film Society, a GFiber Community Connection in Austin, Texas, shares how access to high-speed internet is helping to unlock the potential of the local creative community. 

When award-winning filmmaker Richard Linklater founded the Austin Film Society (AFS) in 1985—before gaining fame for his films Slacker and Dazed and Confused—he hoped to create a community of “oddballs and film freaks” who shared his passion for cinema. 

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Today, AFS is a thriving film community that empowers filmmakers, nurtures Austin and Texas as a creative center, and unites people through the shared experience of great cinema. 

AFS operates Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility located at the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. The facility features two soundstages, a mill/wardrobe facility, two vendor warehouses, two flex stages, production offices, and a dedicated parking area for production basecamps. It's here that GFiber powers "stage 7" as well as the Creative Media Center, fueling the work of the productions using these facilities.
 
Additionally, the organization runs the AFS Cinema, Austin’s only nonprofit arthouse theater with a robust program of both classic and contemporary films. Where else can you see the 4K restored version of Seven Samurai this summer?



In partnership with the City of Austin, AFS also operates the state-of-the-art facilities at Austin Public, which were previously run by an organization called channelAustin. They were selected as one of the first organizations in Austin to take part in GFiber’s Community Connections program to receive gigabit internet service at no cost. Today, AFS is still benefiting from using GFiber at Austin Public, and the faster internet speeds definitely have a positive impact on their work.

Austin Public offers low- and no-cost training, equipment, facilities and content distribution—all designed to empower individuals and nonprofit organizations to create film and media projects that speak to the local community, facilitate community building, and diversify the media landscape. Much of that requires a fast and reliable internet connection. That’s how GFiber has made an impact. 



Additionally, the film industry is one of the most competitive and difficult industries to enter. It takes more than luck—it takes skills. 

So to help open doors, AFS established the Creative Careers Program at its Austin Public facilities. This workforce development program offers three training pathways for individuals at different stages of their professional journeys in film. Students receive hands-on experience and utilize GFiber during classroom lectures as well, while they're working on creative projects in Austin Public's video editing suite.

18 to 24 year olds who are interested in pursuing a media production career as an alternative to—or in conjunction with—a college degree, can check out the Creative Careers Internship Pathway, a paid internship and training program.



For individuals 18 and older, the Immersive Training Pathway is a three-month, stipend-paid program that provides training in audio and video production, digital media instruction, professional development and technical skills. Participants complete a minimum of eight training hours per week and receive job-placement support.

Lastly, the Continuing Education Pathway is a free program for those with prior production experience. If you want to expand your production skills and improve your career beyond the usual equipment certification course, Austin Public is the place. 

With GFiber’s support, AFS will continue to give the Austin community the programs and training to "make, watch, and love film" (as well as produce more “oddballs and film freaks”).

To learn more about our Creative Careers program and additional workforce development opportunities, please visit www.austinfilm.org/austin-public/about-austin-public/.

Posted by Austin Film Society 




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When we launched GFiber Labs last fall, we asked some big questions designed to help us meet the audacious goal of figuring out what’s possible for the internet and what tomorrow’s internet experience should be. While we don’t have all the answers, one certainty is that tomorrow’s internet will need to be faster. Which is why GFiber Labs is on a journey to push speeds to 100 Gig and beyond. Delivering 20 Gig symmetrical speeds was the first stop in pursuing that goal, but journeys are made by next steps. And we recently took that step in our hometown of Kansas City.

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For the first time ever, GFiber Labs, using Nokia’s technology, tested 50 Gig on a live network. We put Nokia’s 50G PON technology to the test in one of our KC fiber huts (where we house our network equipment):



GFiber’s philosophy when it comes to our network is that all our customers should have access to the latest technology — whether they’re in the first neighborhood we served in Kansas City or in our newest construction areas in our most recently launched city of Omaha and everywhere in between. That’s why we’ve upgraded our network holistically to XGS-PON wherever possible, enabling 8 Gig speeds and above in all our cities. We are already seeing high interest in our multigig products. And it’s why we’re now working to deploy Nokia 25G PON in all of our markets by the end of the year, so that we can extend access to GFiber Lab’s 20 Gig plan. We already have customers putting this new level of service to the test in North Carolina’s Triangle, and we’re adding new customers to the early access program in select markets. 

So when we start testing new technologies, like 50G PON, you know that it’s more than just an experiment or fun stunt for our engineers to geek out over (although, believe me, we did that too!). GFiber sees a future where the internet must meet the demands of increasing users, devices, and bandwidth hungry applications, including immersive video streaming, virtual and augmented reality experiences, artificial intelligence integration into everyday life, and quantum computing. Multigig is already the new norm. But to meet the challenge of this connected future, we are preparing to further densify our network so when bandwidth needs inevitably multiply, we’ll be ready. We are building a state-of-the-art network and we always want to stay ahead of demand when it comes to our infrastructure. 50G PON has the advantage of co-existing with XGS-PON and 25G PON to make the technology transition easier, which may make it the solution for the future.  

These technologies don’t just mean we can deliver benchmark speeds to the home, they ensure our network is reliable and can meet fluctuations in demand. . .say when a certain hometown team goes to that big game in February, EVERY February. GFiber Labs is working to make sure that customers get the experience they deserve at every point of their service — the fastest speeds to the home, using the latest Wi-Fi technology to take advantage of those speed inside and even outside the home, and making sure all of that is supported by a network that fixes problems before they even occur. 

A customer experience that changes the way we think about internet - that’s what GFiber has always strived to deliver, and as internet needs evolve, we aim to continue to meet that challenge for our customers. Testing 50 Gig brings us one step closer to tomorrow. The journey continues.

Posted by Liz Hsu, Senior Director, Product & Billing
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As Head of Market Operations for GFiber, my team has a responsibility for everything that’s happening in our cities and across the country, from putting the fiber in the ground to making sure our customers have the exceptional experience they deserve. We take that job very seriously, and have been working not just to build out our network but also upgrade it to meet the ever increasing demand and to ensure it’s even more reliable. Because we know that you don’t want to think about your internet — it should just be there when you need it for whatever you need it to do.That’s why my team and I spend so much time thinking about it. We’re obsessed with improving every part of our delivery system to ensure that we meet our promise to our customers, from connecting more people in more places to providing the standard for customer service.  

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We’re growing rapidly in all of our markets — this includes building out our networks to areas within the existing cities and also connecting surrounding communities.  As we expand our footprint further, we’re growing our team to help us achieve our goals. If you have a passion for connecting people to what they need and think you’d be a good fit for GFiber, consider joining our team - we’re hiring for many roles on our local and central teams. We’re also hosting Direct Sales Representative recruiting events this month in several of our cities:  

Austin: 

              Location: 3601 South Congress, Austin, TX 78704 
      Date: Tuesday, July 16, 2024
              Time: 9:00 AM till 5:00 PM 
              Register for a time slot here.

Nashville: 

              Location: 1101 McGavock St Ste 200 Nashville, TN 37203 
              Date: Tuesday, July 23, 2024 
              Time: 9:00 AM till 5:00 PM 
              Register for a time slot here.

Charlotte: 

              Location: 1801 North Graham St, Suite 300 Charlotte, NC 2820  
              Date: Tuesday, July 9th, 2024 
              Time: 9:00 AM till 5:00 PM
              Register for a time slot here.



In addition to taking steps to make sure that our network is ready for whatever is coming next as we grow to new spaces and demand continues to increase, we are also upgrading our network to XGS PON (and even incorporating 25G PON). And we're constantly working to improve the resiliency of our fiber optic infrastructure, proactively addressing potential issues. There’s never been a better time to be at GFiber. We’re very excited about what’s coming next. We hope you’ll join us! 

Posted By Darrel Hegar, Head of Market Operations

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Google Fiber has a lot going on in San Antonio — with the recent launch of 5 Gig and 8 Gig and ongoing construction efforts across the metro area, and today, we’re excited to share another big announcement. GFiber Business is now available to local businesses in the SAT metro area.

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Starting today, businesses in San Antonio can sign up for our Business 1 Gig ($100/month) and Business 2 Gig ($250/month) plans to serve all their internet needs. Both plans come with symmetrical uploads and download speeds, no annual contracts or data caps and include a Wi-Fi 6E router with Guest Wi-Fi capability. Business 2 Gig also includes up to 2 mesh extenders, a 99.9% Service Guarantee, and a static IP address. Business customers can also add phone service.

SMBs run on fast, reliable internet. GFiber understands the integral role that great service plays in allowing businesses to provide great service to their customers. When it comes to that reliability, we’re all business.

Posted by Sasha Petrovic, Southwest Region General Manager





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We’re going coastal in Carolina! Google Fiber is bringing high speed internet service to Wilmington. The City of Wilmington approved an agreement paving the way for GFiber to bring our network to our first Coastal Carolina metro. 

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We’ve already started the engineering process for the Wilmington network and plan to start construction later this year, serving our first customers in the city in 2025. Residents can sign up for updates here.

If you’ve been following along, you know that Google Fiber has been steadily growing in our existing metros in North Carolina as well — including new agreements to build networks in Harrisburg, Kannapolis and Stallings, beginning to serve our first new customers in Hillsborough, and breaking ground in Huntersville. We’re also continuing to build out our networks in Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte and the surrounding communities, opening up service to new neighborhoods weekly across these metro areas. 

Additionally, we recently started installations in Raleigh-Durham for our GFiber Labs 20 Gig service, making NC the first state to get this product. Response has been exceptional across the country, and we’re excited that customers here are the first to get to put all that speed to use.

But North Carolina isn’t our only Carolina! When GFiber announced last October that we’re coming to Tega Cay, everyone wanted to know what else we were planning in South Carolina. Since then,  we have been hard at work, designing our fiber optic network to serve more communities in the Palmetto State. 

In February, we placed our first SC fiber hut in Fort Mill. This critical piece of infrastructure will power and connect customers in Tega Cay and other neighboring SC communities. We’ll be starting network construction in Tega Cay in the next few weeks and will have more to share on that, and on new GFiber communities in the area soon!


















Posted by Jess George, Head of Government & Community Affairs- East Region



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