In some parts of the country, one of the biggest names in tech has been rolling out extremely high-speed internet service for many consumers over the last few years. Now, it seems poised to expand that service to small businesses in one city as a test to see whether it would be workable for others.
Google recently sent a questionnaire to small business owners in Kansas City to determine whether there would be a large enough market for the company’s Fiber high-speed internet service, according to a report from the Kansas City Star. Over the next few months, a number of the companies that end up responding could be connected to the network and receive the service, depending upon a number of factors. These include whether their owners or executives use Fiber in their homes already, how many employees they have, the fields in which they operate, how often they use cloud storage, and whether they’ve experienced any past difficulties with their current internet provider.
One local business owner, whose company develops apps for smartphones that can determine people’s identities based on the whites of their eyes, said that such an offering would be a boon for his firm, the report said. This is because Google Fiber would bring connection speeds that are simply not available through the current providers.
More on the service
Google Fiber is so-called because it uses fiber optic lines to send and receive data, allowing for speeds of 1 gigabit per second, or roughly 100 times the average for U.S. households today, the report said. However, it’s being rolled out slowly, with cities like Provo, Utah, and Austin, Texas, currently having access to the home service as well. Google has also asked nine other cities across the country to provide information about infrastructure and regulatory rules that would affect its ability to work there, but to this point, Kansas City is the only one with access to the small business version of the service.
Small business owners may still need to assess where their companies stand in terms of technological needs regardless of whether they have access to Google Fiber. However, if they find they have to spend a bit more to meet their needs, then it might be wise to find other ways to reduce costs. One way to do it is to find more affordable small business insurance coverage – like liability insurance, for example – which can save thousands per year.
